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MARTHA  WASHINGTON 


George    Washington 
the  Christian 


By 
WILLIAM  J.  JOHNSON 


THE  ABINGDON  PRESS 

NEW  YORK  CINCINNATI 


Copyright,  1919,  by 
WILLIAM  J.  JOHNSON 


To  THE  MEMORY  OF 
BRISON  BLAIR  AND  LYDIA  OVERTON  JOHNSON 

MY  FATHER  AND  MOTHER 

WHO  TAUGHT  THEIR  CHILDREN 

FROM   EARLIEST   CHILDHOOD  TO. 

REVERE  THE  NAME  AND 

EMULATE  THE  CHARACTER 

OF 
GEORGE  WASHINGTON 


33442 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGB 

THE  REASON 13 

I.  RELIGIOUS  FOUNDATION 16 

II.  WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 23 

III.  A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 36 

IV.  THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 48 

V.  THE  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF  TRUSTS  IN 

GOD 68 

VI.  WASHINGTON     ATTENDS     COMMUNION 

SERVICE 85 

VII.  PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 102 

VIII.  WASHINGTON  NOT  PROFANE 115 

IX.  GENERAL    WASHINGTON    A    MAN    OF 

PRAYER 122 

X.  WASHINGTON  AND  DIVINE  PROVIDENCE  133 

XI.  CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 146 

XII.  A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 159 

XIII.  How  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY  ....   175 

XIV.  WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 187 

XV.  DID  WASHINGTON  SWEAR  ? 203 

XVI.  RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE  TO  POLITICAL 

PROSPERITY 210 

XVII.  EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 226 

XVIII.  WASHINGTON'S  WILL 237 

XIX.  His  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 242 

XX.  ESTIMATE  OF  His  CHARACTER 250 

XXI.  THE  VERDICT 262 

SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 270 

WHERE  FOUND 276 

NAMES  OF  THE  DEITY 288 

INDEX  . .  .  292 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  ) Frontispieces 

MARTHA  WASHINGTON  ) 

FACING   PAGE 

POHICK  CHURCH,  VIRGINIA 54 

THE  FIRST  PRAYER  IN  CONGRESS 64 

WASHINGTON  RECEIVING  COMMUNION 88 

WASHINGTON'S  PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 102 

CHRIST  CHURCH,  ALEXANDRIA,  VIRGINIA 146 

WASHINGTON  AND  His  MOTHER 156 

SAINT  PAUL'S  CHAPEL,  NEW  YORK 178 

CHRIST  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA 192 

PORTRAIT  OF  WASHINGTON  IN  1794 214 

ROOM  IN  WHICH  WASHINGTON  DIED  . .               .  234 


In  all  thy  ways  acknowledge  him,  and  he  shall 
direct  thy  paths. — Proverbs  3.6. 


THE  REASON 

MY  earliest  recollection  of  the  picture  of  the 
face  of  any  man  is  that  of  the  Father  of  his 
Country.  The  first  and  for  many  years  the 
only  pictures  that  hung  on  the  wall  of  the  old- 
fashioned  sitting  room  in  our  southern  Indiana 
home  were  those  of  George  and  Martha  Washing 
ton.  The  story  of  the  hatchet  and  cherry  tree 
was  one  of  the  constructive  influences  in  my  life. 
As  children  we  never  tired  of  hearing  stories  of 
this  great  man. 

Later,  in  school,  as  we  studied  the  history  of 
our  country,  and  his  part  in1  it., '  he  'became  to  us 
a  sort  of  demigod.  Could  a  real  man  do  what 
Washington  did?  He  seemed-  ':<?  be  the 'special 
care  of  Providence. 

Afterward  came  the  period  of  questioning. 
WTiat  made  Washington  great?  What  gave  him 
his  mighty  power?  What  produced  that  in 
comparable  character?  Research  disclosed  that 
the  supreme  factor  in  his  life  was  an  unwavering 
faith  in  God  and  a  strict  adherence  to  his  teach 
ings. 

Religion  is  the  chief  asset  in  any  character. 
We  cannot  rightly  estimate  the  character  of  any 
person  until  we  know  the  religious  belief  of  that 

13 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

person.  Christianity  is  the  basis  of  •  all  true 
character  and  the  foundation  of  all  true  great 
ness. 

We  have  not  tried  to  analyze  the  religious  side 
of  Washington's  character,  but  to  study  its  de 
velopment  and  its  expression.  The  chronological 
order  has  been  followed,  from  birth  to  death. 
Our  purpose  is  to  place  before  the  reader  the 
evidence,  and  let  him  form  his  own  conclusion. 
This  evidence  consists  of  what  Washington  him 
self  said  in  his  letters,  diary,  "orders"  to  the 
army,  addresses  and  state  papers,  and  authentic 
incidents  in  his  life,  gathered  from  many  sources. 
Some  things  have  been  introduced  which  do  not 
bear  directly  upon  his  religious  belief  or  charac 
ter^,  but  they  are  interesting  and  suggestive 
sidelights. 

Not  finding  any  book  which  gave  a  complete 
and  comprehensive  study  of  the  religious  side  of 
Washington's  life,  it  seemed  worth  while  to  pre 
pare  such  a  work,  that  the  young  people  of 
America  may  know  the  real  secret  of  Washing 
ton's  character  and  achievements.  This  is  "The 
Reason"  for  adding  one  more  book  to  the  long 
list  about  Washington. 

It  is  one  hundred  eighty-seven  years  since 
Washington  was  born  in  a  humble  Virginia  pio 
neer's  cabin,  and  one  hundred  twenty  years 
since  his  body  was  laid  in  the  tomb  at  Mount 
14 


THE  REASON 

Vernon.  All  that  can  ever  be  known  of  him  was 
written  long  ago.  The  only  thing  that  can  be 
done  now  is  to  gather  the  facts  in  his  life  into 
such  an  arrangement  as  will  most  clearly  exhibit 
to  the  student  the  true  George  Washington. 
This  we  have  endeavored  to  do,  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  that  matchless  character  which  made 
possible  such  marvelous  achievement. 

The  index  numbers  throughout  the  book  will 
direct  the  reader  to  the  sources  of  information 
under  the  heading  "Where  Found,"  in  the  back 
part  of  the  book.  At  the  bottom  of  the  page  are 
given  the  date  and  the  age  of  Washington  at  the 
time  the  incidents  referred  to  on  that  page 
occurred.  All  except  the  shorter  quotations 
from  Washington  are  in  smaller  type. 

"The  history  of  George  Washington  is  not 
always  a  recital  of  brilliant  exploits  in  the  field— 
the  cunning  strategy  of  the  commander;  nor 
is  it  always  a  narrative  of  startling  movements 
in  the  cabinet — the  secret  diplomacy  of  the 
Statesman;  but  it  is  always  the  consistent  record 
of  a  man  true  to  himself,  true  to  his  country, 
true  to  his  God." 

Merriam  Park, 

Saint  Paul,  Minnesota, 
February  23,  1919. 


15 


CHAPTER  I 
RELIGIOUS  FOUNDATION 

CHRISTIAN  ANCESTRY 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON  descended  from  a  long 
line  of  excellent  churchmen.  His  great-great 
grandfather  was  the  Rev.  Lawrence  Washington, 
a  clergyman  in  the  Church  of  England.  His 
great-grandfather,  John  Washington,  "a  man 
of  military  talent  and  high  in  the  government," 
came  to  America  in  1657,  settling  in  Virginia. 
He  founded  a  parish  which  was  named  for  him — 
"The  parish  of  Washington."  "He  was  also  a 
sincerely  pious  man."  In  his  will,  he  left  a  gift 
to  the  church,  of  "a  tablet  with  the  Ten  Com 
mandments,"  and  recorded  his  faith  in  this 
manner:  "being  heartily  sorry  from  the  bot- 
tome  of  my  hart  for  my  sins  past,  most  hum 
bly  desireing  forgiveness  of  the  same  from 
the  Almighty  god  (my  saviour)  and  redeimer, 
in  whom  and  by  the  meritts  of  Jesus  Christ, 
I  trust  and  believe  assuredly  to  be  saved,  and 
to  have  full  remission  and  forgiveness  of  all  my 


sins." 


His  grandfather,  also  named  Lawrence  Wash 
ington,  similarly  expresses  his  faith  in  his  will. 

16 


RELIGIOUS  FOUNDATION 

I  father,  Augustine  Washington,  was  active 

Y;  >arish  affairs,  and  became  a  vestryman  in 

1  ro    Parish,   Virginia,  November   18,    1735, 

TI  n  his  son  George  was  three  years  old. 

a  the  mother's  side  the  line  of  churchmen  is 

e<  illy  strong.     Grandfather  Ball  was  a  vestry- 

n  ,  and    Great-Grandfather  Warner  left  his 

si  ler  but  excellent  record  by  presenting  to  the 

p;  >h  church  a  set  of  silver  for  the  holy  com- 

m  ion.     "The  family  of  Balls  was  very  active 

in  omoting  good  things."     Washington's  uncle 

Jc  oh,  in  1729,  took  the  lead  in  a  movement  to 

ec  ate  young  men  for   the   ministry   of   the 

cb  2h.      Mary    Ball    Washington    (George's 

m  ler),  says  Henry  Cabot  Lodge,  "was  an  im- 

pe  us  woman,  of  strong  will,  ruling  her  king- 

dc  alone.     Above  all  she  was  very  dignified, 

ve  silent,  and  very  sober-minded.     That  she 

wfc  iffectionate  and  loving  cannot  be  doubted, 

foi  le  retained  to  the  last  a  profound  hold  upon 

th'  ^verential  devotion  of  her  son." 

Washington's  military  character  was  devel 
op  out  of  materials  which  came  to  him  by 
inl  itance  from  both  sides  of  his  family,  so  too 
WF  lis  religious  character.  That  love  of  the 
ch  h  which  we  have  seen  as  a  distinguishing 
mt  in  his  family  became  a  strong  inheritance 
wt  i  his  own  will  and  intelligence  did  not  set 
asi  1 

17 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH  MEMBERSHIP 

The  parents  of  Washington  were  members  of 
the  Church  of  England,  which  was  almost  the 
only  denomination  of  Christians  then  known  in 
Virginia.2 

His  BAPTISM 

The  birth  record  of  Washington  is  found  in 
an  old  family  Bible  of  quarto  form,  dilapidated 
by  use  and  age,  and  covered  with  Virginia 
striped  cloth,  which  record  is  in  the  handwriting 
of  the  patriot's  father,  in  these  words: 

George  William,  son  to  Augustine  Washington, 
and  Mary,  his  wife,  was  born  the  eleventh  day  of 
February,  1731-2,  about  ten  in  the  morning,  and  was 
baptized  the  3rd  April  following,  Mr.  Bromley 
Whiting,  and  Captain  Christopher  Brooks  god 
fathers,  and  Mrs.  Mildred  Gregory  godmother.3 

According  to  the  present  style  of  reckoning, 
the  birthday  was  February  22,  and  the  baptismal 
day  April  14. 

His  FATHER 

There  are  many  stories  of  Washington's  boy 
hood  which  show  that  his  father  took  great 
pains  to  teach  George  to  be  unselfish,  inspire 
him  with  a  love  of  truth,  and  teach  him  to  know 
and  worship  God. 

When  George  was  eleven  years  old,  his  father 
died.  Some  months  later  he  was  sent  to  West- 

1732]  18 


RELIGIOUS  FOUNDATION 

moreland  to  live  with  his  half-brother,  Augus 
tine,  who  occupied  the  family  seat  in  that 
county.  What  the  religious  advantages  were, 
which  awaited  him  in  his  new  situation,  we  have 
not  the  means  to  ascertain.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  he  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  public  worship 
at  the  parish  church,  known  then  and  now  as 
Pope's  Creek  Church.  Here  his  attendance  was 
probably  habitual,  as  it  was  an  age  in  which 
everybody  in  that  region  frequented  the  house 
of  God  whenever  service  was  performed.4 

RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  BY  His  MOTHER 

In  addition  to  instruction  in  the  Bible  and 
Prayer  Book,  which  were  her  daily  companions, 
it  was  Mrs.  Washington's  custom  to  read  some 
helpful  books  to  her  children  at  home,  and  in  this 
way  they  received  much  valuable  instruction. 
Among  the  volumes  which  she  used  for  this  pur 
pose  was  one  entitled  Contemplations:  Moral 
and  Divine,  by  Sir  Matthew  Hale5 — an  old, 
well-worn  copy,  which  still  bears  on  its  title-page 
the  name  of  its  owner,  "Mary  Washington." 
Those  who  are  familiar  with  the  character  of 
Washington  will  be  struck,  on  reading  these 
"Contemplations,"  with  the  remarkable  fact 
that  the  instructions  contained  in  them  are 
most  admirably  calculated  to  implant  and  foster 
such  principles  as  he  is  known  to  have  possessed. 

Age  11]  19  [1743 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

The  volume  was  found  in  the  library  at  Mount 
Vernon,  after  Washington's  death,  and  it  ap 
pears  to  have  been  used  by  him  through  life.6 
There  are  many  pencil  marks  in  it  noting  choice, 
passages. 

"From  that  volume  the  mother  of  Washington 
undoubtedly  drew,  as  from  a  living  well  of  sweet 
water,  many  of  the  maxims  which  she  instilled 
into  the  mind  of  her  first-born."7 

"Let  those  who  wish  to  know  the  moral  foun 
dation  of  his  character  consult  its  pages."8 

WASHINGTON'S  RULES 

In  1745,  thirteen  years  old,  Washington  copied 
many  things  in  a  little  book  of  thirty  folio  pages. 
One  part  was  headed,  "Rules  of  Civility  and 
Decent  Behavior  in  Company  and  Conversa 
tion."  There  were  one  hundred  and  ten  of  these 
maxims.  "Scarcely  one  rule  is  there  that  does 
not  involve  self-restraint,  modesty,  habitual 
consideration  of  others,  and,  to  a  large  extent, 
living  for  others."9  The  last  three  rules  are  as 
follows : 

108th.  When  you  speak  of  God  or  his  Attributes, 
let  it  be  Seriously  &  [with  words  of]  Reverence,  Honor 
&  Obey  your  Natural  Parents  altho  they  be  poor 
109th.  Let  your  Recreations  be  Manful  not  Sinful 
110th.  Labor  to  keep  alive  in  your  Breast  that 
little  Spark  of  Celestial  fire  called  Conscience.10 
1745]  go  ^ASe  13 


RELIGIOUS  FOUNDATION 

POEM  ON  "CHRISTMAS  DAY" 
When  Washington  was  thirteen  years  of  age 
he  copied  some  verses  on   "Christmas  Day," 
beginning, 

"Assist  me,  Muse  divine,  to  sing  the  Morn, 
On  Which  the  Saviour  of  Mankind  was  born."11 

Some  think  that  he  composed  poems  himself, 
but  it  is  more  likely  that  he  copied  them  from  an 
unknown  source.  It  shows  what  manner  of 
Christian  training  he  had  received  at  home.  He 
had  absorbed  "the  spirit  of  the  Day  and  the  facts 
of  the  faith,  as  well  as  the  rule  and  model  of 
Christian  life." 

GODFATHER 

In  1747,  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years,  young 
Washington  was  godfather  to  a  child  in  baptism. 
In  1748,  at  sixteen,  he  was  godfather  to  his 
niece,  Frances  Lewis.  In  1751,  at  nineteen,  to 
his  nephew,  Fielding  Lewis,  his  sister's  first 
child,  and  his  mother  was  godmother.  In  1760, 
at  twenty-eight,  he  again  became  sponsor  for 
another  nephew,  Charles  Lewis.12 

GOES  TO  MOUNT  VERNON 
In  the  summer  of  1746,  he  finds  his  way  to 
the  home  of  his  brother  Lawrence,  at  Mount 
Vernon.  From  then  until  March,  1748,  "George, 
it  is  believed,  resided  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  with 
his  mother  at  her  abode  opposite  to  Fredericks- 
Age  14]  21  [1746 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

burg.  In  that  town  he  went  to  school,  and  as 
Mrs.  Washington  was  connected  with  the  church 
there,  her  son  no  doubt  shared,  under  her  own 
eye,  the  benefits  of  divine  worship,  and  such 
religious  instruction  as  mothers  in  that  day 
were  eminently  accustomed  to  give  their  chil 
dren.  It  was  the  habit  to  teach  the  young  the 
first  principles  of  religion  according  to  the  formu 
laries  of  the  church,  to  inculcate  the  fear  of  God, 
and  strict  observance  of  the  moral  virtues,  such 
as  truth,  justice,  charity,  humility,  modesty, 
temperance,  chastity,  and  industry."13 

TRIP  TO  THE  WEST  INDIES 

In  1751  Lawrence  Washington,  on  the  advice 
of  his  physicians,  decided  to  pass  a  winter  in  the 
West  Indies,  taking  with  him  his  favorite  brother 
George  as  a  companion.  George  kept  a  journal 
of  this  trip.  They  arrived  on  Saturday,  No 
vember  3.  The  second  Sunday  we  find  this 
entry  in  his  diary,  which  shows  his  habit  of 
church  attendance: 

"Sunday,  llth — Dressed  in  order  for  Church 
but  got  to  town  too  late.  Dined  at  Major 
Clarke's  with  ye  SeG.  Went  to  Evening  Serv 
ice  and  return' d  to  our  lodgings."14 

Before  the  next  Sunday  he  was  stricken  with 
smallpox.  A  few  days  after  his  recovery  he 
sailed  for  home. 

1751]  22  [Age  19 


CHAPTER  II 
WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

ON  April  21,  22,  23,  1891,  there  was  sold  at 
auction  in  Philadelphia  a  remarkable  collection 
of  Washington  relics  owned  by  Lawrence  Wash 
ington,  Bushrod  C.  Washington,  Thomas  B. 
Washington,  and  J.  R.  C.  Lewis.  Among  them 
was  found  a  little  manuscript  book  entitled 
Daily  Sacrifice. 

"This  gem  is  all  in  the  handwriting  of  George 
Washington,  when  about  twenty  years  old,  and 
is,  without  exception,  the  most  hallowed  of  all 
his  writings.  It  is  neatly  written  on  twenty- 
four  pages  of  a  little  book  about  the  size  of  the 
ordinary  pocket  memorandum."15 

"The  occasional  interlineations  and  emenda 
tions  indicate  that  it  was  prepared  for  his  own 


use." 


Whether  Washington  composed  the  prayers 
himself  or  copied  them  from  some  source  as  yet 
unknown  has  not  been  determined;  but  they 
are  a  revelation  of  that  striking  character  which 
has  been  the  wonder  of  the  world.  Professor  S. 
F.  Upham,  professor  of  practical  theology  in 
Drew  Theological  Seminary,  wrote:  "The  'Daily 
Prayers'  of  George  Washington  abound  in 

Age  20]  23  11758 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTL 

earnest  thought,  expressed  in  simple,  beautii 
fervent  and  evangelical  language.  They  rev 
to  us  the  real  life  of  the  great  patriot,  and  att 
his  piety.  None  can  read  those  petitions,  wh 
bore  his  desires  to  God,  and  often  brou| 
answers  of  peace,  without  having  a  grander  c< 
ception  of  Washington's  character." 

"The  prayers  are  characterized  by  a  deep  cc 
sciousness  of  sin  and  by  a  need  of  forgivene 
and  by  a  recognition  of  dependence  upon  1 
merits  and  mercies  of  our  Lord.  They  cont; 
fervent  applications  for  family,  friends,  and  ruL 
in  church  and  state."  The  prayers  are  as  folio 
(by  special  permission  of  Rev.  Dr.  W.  Herbc 
Burk): 

(1)     SUNDAY  MORNING 

Almighty   God,   and   most  merciful  father,   w 
didst  command  the  children  of  Israel  to  offer  a  da 
sacrifice  to  thee,  that  thereby  they  might  glorify  a 
praise  thee  for  thy  protection  both  night  and  da 
receive,  O  Lord,  my  morning   sacrifice  which  I  m 
offer  up  to  thee;  I  yield  thee  humble  and  hear 
thanks  that  thou  has  preserved  me  from  the  dang( 
of  the  night  past,  and  brought  me  to  the  light  of  tl 
day,  and  the  comforts  thereof,  a  day  which  is  co 
secrated  to  thine  own  service  and  for  thine  ov 
honor.     Let  my  heart,  therefore,  Gracious  God,  1 
so  affected  with  the  glory  and  majesty  of  it,  that 
may  not  do  mine  own  works,  but  wait  on  thee,  an 
discharge  those  weighty  duties  thou  requirest  of  ni( 
1752]  24 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

and  since  thou  art  a  God  of  pure  eyes,  and  wilt  be 
sanctified  in  all  who  draw  near  unto  thee,  who  doest 
not  regard  the  sacrifice  of  fools,  nor  hear  sinners  who 
tread  in  thy  courts,  pardon,  I  beseech  thee,  my  sins, 
remove  them  from  thy  presence,  as  far  as  the  east  is 
from  the  west,  and  accept  of  me  for  the  merits  of  thy 
son  Jesus  Christ,  that  when  I  come  into  thy  temple, 
and  compass  thine  altar,  my  prayers  may  come 
before  thee  as  incense;  and  as  thou  wouldst  hear  me 
calling  upon  thee  in  my  prayers,  so  give  me  grace  to 
hear  thee  calling  on  me  in  thy  word,  that  it  may  be 
wisdom,  righteousness,  reconciliation  and  peace  to 
the  saving  of  my  soul  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
Grant  that  I  may  hear  it  with  reverence,  receive  it 
with  meekness,  mingle  it  with  faith,  and  that  it  may 
accomplish  in  me,  Gracious  God,  the  good  work  for 
which  thou  has  sent  it.  Bless  my  family,  kindred, 
friends  and  country,  be  our  God  &  guide  this  day 
and  for  ever  for  his  sake,  who  lay  down  in  the  Grave 
and  arose  again  for  us,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  Amen. 

(2)     SUNDAY  EVENING 

O  most  Glorious  God,  in  Jesus  Christ  my  merciful 
and  loving  father,  I  acknowledge  and  confess  my 
guilt,  in  the  weak  and  imperfect  performance  of  the 
duties  of  this  day.  I  have  called  on  thee  for  pardon 
and  forgiveness  of  sins,  but  so  coldly  and  carelessly, 
that  my  prayers  are  become  my  sin  and  stand  in 
need  of  pardon.  I  have  heard  thy  holy  word,  but 
with  such  deadness  of  spirit  that  I  have  been  an  un 
profitable  and  forgetful  hearer,  so  that,  O  Lord,  tho' 
Age  20]  25  [1752 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

I  have  done  thy  work,  yet  it  hath  been  so  negli 
gently  that  I  may  rather  expect  a  curse  than  a  bless 
ing  from  thee.  But,  O  God,  who  art  rich  in  mercy 
and  plenteous  in  redemption,  mark  not,  I  beseech 
thee,  what  I  have  done  amiss;  remember  that  I  am 
but  dust,  and  remit  my  transgressions,  negligences  & 
ignorances,  and  cover  them  all  with  the  absolute 
obedience  of  thy  dear  Son,  that  those  sacrifices 
which  I  have  offered  may  be  accepted  by  thee,  in 
and  for  the  sacrifice  of  Jesus  Christ  offered  upon  the 
cross  for  me;  for  his  sake,  ease  me  of  the  burden  of 
my  sins,  and  give  me  grace  that  by  the  call  of  the 
Gospel  I  may  rise  from  the  slumber  of  sin  into  the 
newness  of  life.  Let  me  live  according  to  those  holy 
rules  which  thou  hast  this  day  prescribed  in  thy  holy 
word;  make  me  to  know  what  is  acceptable  in  thy 
sight,  and  therein  to  delight,  open  the  eyes  of  my 
understanding,  and  help  me  thoroughly  to  examine 
myself  concerning  my  knowledge,  faith  and  repen 
tance,  increase  my  faith,  and  direct  me  to  the  true 
object  Jesus  Christ  the  way,  the  truth  and  the  life, 
bless,  O  Lord,  all  the  people  of  this  land,  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  particularly  those  whom  thou 
hast  appointed  to  rule  over  us  in  church  &  state, 
continue  thy  goodness  to  me  this  night.  These 
weak  petitions  I  humbly  implore  thee  to  hear  accept 
and  ans.  for  the  sake  of  thy  Dear  Son  Jesus  Christ 
our  Lord,  Amen. 

(3)     MONDAY  MORNING 

O  eternal  and  everlasting  God,  I  presume  to  pre- 
1752]  g  [Age  20 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

sent  myself  this  morning  before  thy  Divine  majesty, 
beseeching  thee  to  accept  of  my  humble  and  hearty 
thanks,  that  it  hath  pleased  thy  great  goodness  to 
keep  and  preserve  me  the  night  past  from  all  the 
dangers  poor  mortals  are  subject  to,  and  has  given  me 
sweet  and  pleasant  sleep,  whereby  I  find  my  body 
refreshed  and  comforted  for  performing  the  duties 
of  this  day,  in  which  I  beseech  thee  to  defend  me 
from  all  perils  of  body  and  soul.  Direct  my  thoughts,  f 
words  and  work,  wash  away  my  sins  in  the  immacu 
late  blood  of  the  lamb,  and  purge  my  heart  by  thy 
holy  spirit,  from  the  dross  of  my  natural  corruption, 
that  I  may  with  more  freedom  of  mind  and  liberty 
of  will  serve  thee,  the  ever  lasting  God,  in  righteous 
ness  and  holiness  this  day,  and  all  the  days  of  my 
life.  Increase  my  faith  in  the  sweet  promises  of  the 
gospel;  give  me  repentance  from  dead  works;  pardon 
my  wanderings,  &  direct  my  thoughts  unto  thyself, 
the  God  of  my  salvation;  teach  me  how  to  live  in  thy 
fear,  labor  in  thy  service,  and  ever  to  run  in  the 
ways  of  thy  commandments;  make  me  always 
watchful  over  my  heart,  that  neither  the  terrors  of 
conscience,  the  loathing  of  holy  duties,  the  love  of 
sin,  nor  an  unwillingness  to  depart  this  life,  may  cast 
me  into  a  spiritual  slumber,  but  daily  frame  me  more 
&  more  into  the  likeness  of  thy  son  Jesus  Christ,  that 
living  in  thy  fear,  and  dying  in  thy  favor,  I  may 
in  thy  appointed  time  attain  the  resurrection  of  the 
just  unto  eternal  life  bless  my  family,  friends  &  kin 
dred  unite  us  all  in  praising  &  glorifying  thee  in  all 
our  works  begun,  continued,  and  ended,  when  we 
Age  20]  27  [1752 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

shall  come  to  make  our  last  account  before  thee 
blessed  saviour,  who  hath  taught  us  thus  to  pray, 
our  Father,  &c. 

(4)     MONDAY  EVENING 

Most  Gracious  Lord  God,  from  whom  proceedeth 
every  good  and  perfect  gift,  I  offer  to  thy  divine 
majesty  my  unfeigned  praise  &  thanksgiving  for 
all  thy  mercies  towards  me.  Thou  mad'st  me  at 
first  and  hast  ever  since  sustained  the  work  of  thy 
own  hand;  thou  gav'st  thy  Son  to  die  for  me;  and 
hast  given  me  assurance  of  salvation,  upon  my 
repentance  and  sincerely  endeavoring  to  conform 
my  life  to  his  holy  precepts  and  example.  Thou  art 
pleased  to  lengthen  out  to  me  the  time  of  repentance 
and  to  move  me  to  it  by  thy  spirit  and  by  thy  word, 
by  thy  mercies,  and  by  thy  judgments;  out  of  a 
deepness  of  thy  mercies,  and  my  own  unworthiness, 
I  do  appear  before  thee  at  this  t'me ;  I  have  sinned  and 
done  very  wickedly,  be  merciful  to  me,  O  God,  and 
pardon  me  for  Jesus  Christ  sake;  instruct  me  in  the 
particulars  of  my  duty,  and  suffer  me  not  to  be 
tempted  above  what  thou  givest  me  strength  to  bear. 
Take  care,  I  pray  thee  of  my  affairs  and  more  and 
more  direct  me  in  thy  truth,  defend  me  from  my 
enemies,  especially  my  spiritual  ones.  Suffer  me  not 
to  be  drawn  from  thee,  by  the  blandishments  of  the 
world,  carnal  desires,  the  cunning  of  the  devil,  or 
deceitfulness  of  sin.  work  in  me  thy  good  will  and 
pleasure,  and  discharge  my  mind  from  all  things  that 
are  displeasing  to  thee,  of  all  ill  will  and  discontent, 
1752]  28  [Age  20 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

wrath  and  bitterness,  pride  &  vain  conceit  of  myself, 
and  render  me  charitable,  pure,  holy,  patient  and 
heavenly  minded,  be  with  me  at  the  hour  of  death; 
dispose  me  for  it,  and  deliver  me  from  the  slavish 
fear  of  it,  and  make  me  willing  and  fit  to  die  when 
ever  thou  shalt  call  me  hence.  Bless  our  rulers  in 
church  and  state,  bless  O  Lord  the  whole  race  of 
mankind,  and  let  the  world  be  filled  with  the  knowl 
edge  of  Thee  and  thy  son  Jesus  Christ.  Pity  the 
sick,  the  poor,  the  weak,  the  needy,  the  widows  and 
fatherless,  and  all  that  morn  or  are  broken  in  heart, 
and  be  merciful  to  them  according  to  their  several 
necessities,  bless  my  friends  and  grant  me  grace 
to  forgive  my  enemies  as  heartily  as  I  desire  forgive 
ness  of  Thee  my  heavenly  Father.  I  beseech  thee  to 
defend  me  this  night  from  all  evil,  and  do  more  for 
me  than  I  can  think  or  ask,  for  Jesus  Christ  sake,  in 
whose  most  holy  name  &  words,  I  continue  to  pray, 
Our  Father,  &c. 

(5)    TUESDAY  MORNING 

O  Lord  our  God,  most  mighty  and  merciful  father, 
I  thine  unworthy  creature  and  servant,  do  once  more 
approach  thy  presence.  Though  not  worthy  to  ap 
pear  before  thee,  because  of  my  natural  corruptions, 
and  the  many  sins  and  transgressions  which  I  have 
committed  against  thy  divine  majesty;  yet  I  beseech 
thee,  for  the  sake  of  him  in  whom  thou  art  well 
pleased,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  admit  me  to  render 
thee  deserved  thanks  and  praises  for  thy  manifold 
mercies  extended  toward  me,  for  the  quiet  rest  & 
Age  20]  29  [1752 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

repose  of  the  past  night,  for  food,  raiment,  health, 
peace,  liberty,  and  the  hopes  of  a  better  life  through 
the  merits  of  thy  dear  son's  bitter  passion,  and 
J  O  kind  father  continue  thy  mercy  and  favor  to  me 
this  day,  and  ever  hereafter;  prosper  all  my  lawful 
undertakings;  let  me  have  all  my  directions  from  thy 
holy  spirit,  and  success  from  thy  bountiful  hand. 
Let  the  bright  beams  of  thy  light  so  shine  into  my 
heart,  and  enlighten  my  mind  in  understanding  thy 
blessed  word,  that  I  may  be  enabled  to  perform  thy 
will  in  all  things,  and  effectually  resist  all  tempta 
tions  of  the  world,  the  flesh  and  the  devil,  preserve 
and  defend  our  rulers  in  church  &  state,  bless  the 
people  of  this  land,  be  a  father  to  the  fatherless,  a 
comforter  to  the  comfortless,  a  deliverer  to  the  cap 
tives,  and  a  physician  to  the  sick,  let  thy  blessings 
be  upon  our  friends,  kindred  and  families.  Be  our 
guide  this  day  and  forever  through  J.  C.  in  whose 
blessed  form  of  prayer  I  conclude  my  weak  petitions 
—Our  Father,  &c. 

(6)     TUESDAY  EVENING 

Most  gracious  God  and  heavenly  father,  we  can 
not  cease,  but  must  cry  unto  thee  for  mercy,  because 
my  sins  cry  against  me  for  justice.  How  shall  I 
address  myself  unto  thee,  I  must  with  the  publican 
stand  and  admire  at  thy  great  goodness,  tender 
mercy,  and  long  suffering  towards  me,  in  that  thou 
hast  kept  me  the  past  day  from  being  consumed  and 
brought  to  nought.  0  Lord,  what  is  man,  or  the 
son  of  man,  that  thou  regardest  him;  the  more  days 
1752]  30  [Age  20 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

pass  over  my  head,  the  more  sins  and  iniquities  I 
heap  up  against  thee.  If  I  should  cast  up  the  ac 
count  of  my  good  deeds  done  this  day,  how  few  and 
small  would  they  be;  but  if  I  should  reckon  my  mis 
carriages,  surely  they  would  be  many  and  great.  O, 
blessed  Father,  let  thy  son's  blood  wash  me  from  all 
impurities,  and  cleanse  me  from  the  stains  of  sin  that 
are  upon  me.  Give  me  grace  to  lay  hold  upon  his 
merits;  that  they  may  be  my  reconciliation  and 
atonement  unto  thee, — That  I  may  know  my  sins 
are  forgiven  by  his  death  &  passion,  embrace  me 
in  the  arms  of  thy  mercy;  vouchsafe  to  receive  me 
unto  the  bosom  of  thy  love,  shadow  me  with  thy 
wings,  that  I  may  safely  rest  under  thy  protection 
this  night;  and  so  into  thy  hands  I  commend  myself, 
both  soul  and  body,  in  the  name  of  thy  son,  J.  C., 
beseeching  Thee,  when  this  life  shall  end,  I  may 
take  my  everlasting  rest  with  thee  in  thy  heavenly 
kingdom,  bless  all  in  authority  over  us,  be  merciful 
to  all  those  afflicted  with  thy  cross  or  calamity,  bless 
all  my  friends,  forgive  my  enemies  and  accept  my 
thanksgiving  this  evening  for  all  the  mercies  and 
favors  afforded  me;  hear  and  graciously  answer  these 
my  requests,  and  whatever  else  thou  see'st  needful 
grant  us,  for  the  sake  of  Jesus  Christ  in  whose 
blessed  name  and  words  I  continue  to  pray,  Our 
Father,  &c. 

(7)     A  PRAYER  FOR  WEDNESDAY  MORNINU 

Almighty  and  eternal  Lord  God,  the  great  creator 
of  heaven  &  earth,  and  the  God  and  Father  of  our 
Age  20]  31  [1752 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Lord  Jesus  Christ;  look  down  from  heaven,  in  pity 
and  compassion  upon  me  thy  servant,  who  humbly 
prostrate  myself  before  thee,  sensible  of  thy  mercy 
and  my  own  misery;  there  is  an  infinite  distance 
between  thy  glorious  majesty  and  me,  thy  poor 
creature,  the  work  of  thy  hand,  between  thy  infinite 
power,  and  my  weakness,  thy  wisdom,  and  my  folly* 
thy  eternal  Being,  and  my  mortal  frame,  but,  O 
Lord,  I  have  set  myself  at  a  greater  distance  from 
thee  by  my  sin  and  wickedness,  and  humbly  ac 
knowledge  the  corruption  of  my  nature  and  the 
many  rebellions  of  my  life.  I  have  sinned  against 
heaven  and  before  thee,  in  thought,  word  &  deed;  I 
have  contemned  thy  majesty  and  holy  laws.  I  have 
likewise  sinned  by  omitting  what  I  ought  to  have 
done,  and  committing  what  I  ought  not.  I  have 
rebelled  against  light,  despised  thy  mercies  and  judg 
ments,  and  broken  my  vows  and  promises;  I  have 
neglected  the  means  of  Grace,  and  opportunities  of 
becoming  better;  my  iniquities  are  multiplied,  and 
my  sins  are  very  great.  I  confess  them,  O  Lord, 
with  shame  and  sorrow,  detestation  and  loathing, 
and  desire  to  be  vile  in  my  own  eyes,  as  I  have 
rendered  myself  vile  in  thine.  I  humbly  beseech 
thee  to  be  merciful  to  me  in  the  free  pardon  of  my 
sins,  for  the  sake  of  thy  dear  Son,  my  only  saviour, 
J.  C.,  who  came  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners 
to  repentance;  be  pleased  to  renew  my  nature  and 
write  thy  laws  upon  my  heart,  and  help  me  to  live, 
righteously,  soberly  and  godly  in  this  evil  world; 
make  me  humble,  meek,  patient  and  contented,  and 
1752]  32  [Age  20 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

work  in  me  the  grace  of  thy  holy  spirit,  prepare 
me  for  death  and  judgment,  and  let  the  thoughts 
thereof  awaken  me  to  a  greater  care  and  study  to 
approve  myself  unto  thee  in  well  doing,  bless  our 
rulers  in  church  &  state.  Help  all  in  affliction  or 
adversity — give  them  patience  and  a  sanctified  use 
of  their  affliction,  and  in  thy  good  time  deliverance 
from  them;  forgive  my  enemies,  take  me  unto  thy 
protection  this  day,  keep  me  in  perfect  peace,  which 
I  ask  in  the  name  &  for  the  sake  of  Jesus.  Amen. 

(8)     WEDNESDAY  EVENING 

Holy  and  eternal  Lord  God  who  art  the  King  of 
heaven,  and  the  watchman  of  Israel,  that  never 
slumberest  or  sleepest,  what  shall  we  render  unto 
thee  for  all  thy  benefits;  because  thou  hast  inclined 
thine  ears  unto  me,  therefore  will  I  call  on  thee  as 
long  as  I  live,  from  the  rising  of  the  sun  to  the  going 
down  of  the  same  let  thy  name  be  praised,  among 
the  infinite  riches  of  thy  mercy  towards  me,  I  desire 
to  render  thanks  &  praise  for  thy  merciful  preserva 
tion  of  me  this  day,  as  well  as  all  the  days  of  my  life; 
and  for  the  many  other  blessings  &  mercies  spiritual 
&  temporal  which  thou  hast  bestowed  on  me,  con 
trary  to  my  deserving.  All  these  thy  mercies  call 
on  me  to  be  thankful  and  my  infirmities  &  wants 
call  for  a  continuance  of  thy  tender  mercies;  cleanse 
my  soul,  O  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  from  whatever  is 
offensive  to  thee,  and  hurtful  to  me,  and  give  me 
what  is  convenient  for  me.  watch  over  me  this 
night,  and  give  me  comfortable  and  sweet  sleep  to 
Age  20]  33  [1752 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

fit  me  for  the  service  of  the  day  following.  Let  my 
soul  watch  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord  Jesus;  let  my 
bed  put  me  in  mind  of  my  grave,  and  my  rising 
from  there  of  my  last  resurrection;  O  heavenly 
Father,  so  frame  this  heart  of  mine,  that  I  may  ever 
delight  to  live  according  to  thy  will  and  command, 
in  holiness  and  righteousness  before  thee  all  the  days 
of  my  life.  Let  me  remember,  O  Lord,  the  time  will 
come  when  the  trumpet  shall  sound,  and  the  dead 
shall  arise  and  stand  before  the  judgment  seat,  and 
give  an  account  of  whatever  they  have  done  in  the 
body,  and  let  me  so  prepare  my  soul,  that  I  may  do 
it  with  joy  and  not  with  grief,  bless  the  rulers  and 
people  of  this  and  forget  not  those  who  are  under  any 
affliction  or  oppression.  Let  thy  favor  be  extended 
to  all  my  relations  friends  and  all  others  who  I 
ought  to  remember  in  my  prayer  and  hear  me  I 
beseech  thee  for  the  sake  of  my  dear  redeemer  in 
whose  most  holy  words,  I  farther  pray,  Our  Father, 
&c. 

(9)     THURSDAY  MORNING 

Most  gracious  Lord  God,  whose  dwelling  is  in  the 
highest  heavens,  and  yet  beholdest  the  lowly  and 
humble  upon  earth,  I  blush  and  am  ashamed  to  lift 
up  my  eyes  to  thy  dwelling  place,  because  I  have 
sinned  against  thee;  look  down,  I  beseech  thee  upon 
me  thy  unworthy  servant  who  prostrate  myself  at 
the  footstool  of  thy  mercy,  confessing  my  own  guilti 
ness,  and  begging  pardon  for  my  sins;  what  couldst 
thou  have  done  Lord  more  for  me,  or  what  could  I 
175 2]  34  [Age  20 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYERS 

have  done   more   against  thee?    Thou  didst  send 
me  thy  Son  to  take  our  nature  upon 

"Note:  The  manuscript  ended  at  this  place,  the 
close  of  a  page.  Whether  the  other  pages  were  lost 
or  the  prayers  were  never  completed,  has  not  been 
determined."16 


CHAPTER  III 
A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

His  MOTHER  ADVISES  SECRET  PRAYER 
IN  November,  1753,  then  twenty-one  years  of 
age,  Washington  was  commissioned  by  Governor 
Dinwiddie,  of  Virginia,  to  be  the  bearer  of  dis 
patches  to  the  French  commander  St.  Pierre. 
He  called  to  see  his  mother  and  explained  the 
nature  of  his  mission.  "With  her  farewell  kiss 
she  bade  him  'remember  that  God  only  is  our 
sure  trust.  To  Him  I  commend  you.'  "17 

As  he  left  the  paternal  roof,  his  mother's  part 
ing  charge  was,  "My  son,  neglect  not  the  duty  of 
secret  prayer."  Never  did  a  mother  give  better 
advice  to  her  son,  and  never  did  a  son  more  con 
scientiously  follow  it.18 

"His  uniform  practice  from  youth  to  hoary 
age,  furnished,  it  would  seem,  a  consistent  exem 
plification  of  this  duty  in  its  double  aspect  of 
public  and  private  prayer." 

PRAYERS  AT  FORT  NECESSITY 
The  first  decisive  indication  of  his  principles 
on  this  subject,  with  which  we  are  acquainted, 
appeared  during  the  encampment  at  the  Great 

1753]  36  [Age  21 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

Meadows,  in  the  year  1754.  While  occupying 
Fort  Necessity  it  was  his  practice  to  have  the 
troops  assembled  for  public  worship.  This  we 
learn  from  the  following  note,  by  the  publisher 
of  his  writings:  "While  Washington  was  en 
camped  at  the  Great  Meadows,  Mr.  Fairfax 
wrote  to  him:  *I  will  not  doubt  your  having 
public  prayers  in  the  camp,  especially  when  the 
Indian  families  are  your  guests,  that  they, 
seeing  your  plain  manner  of  worship,  may  have 
their  curiosity  excited  to  be  informed  why  we 
do  not  use  the  ceremonies  of  the  French,  which 
being  well  explained  to  their  understandings, 
will  more  and  more  dispose  them  to  receive  our 
baptism,  and  unite  in  strict  bonds  of  cordial 
friendship.5  It  may  be  added  that  it  was  Wash 
ington's  custom  to  have  prayers  in  the  camp 
while  he  was  at  Fort  Necessity."19 

Here  we  are  informed  not  only  of  the  pious 
custom  of  the  youthful  cammander,  at  the  time 
and  place  mentioned,  but  are  enabled  to  gather 
from  the  communication  of  Mr.  Fairfax  much 
that  was  highly  favorable  to  the  character  of  his 
young  friend.  Mr.  Fairfax  says,  "I  will  not 
doubt  your  having  public  prayers  in  the  camp." 
Intimate  as  this  gentleman  was  with  Washing 
ton,  he  would  scarcely  have  so  addressed  him 
had  he  not  felt  encouraged  to  do  so  by  his  known 
sentiments  of  piety,  if  not  his  own  habits.  Mr. 

Age  21]  37  [1753 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Fairfax  was  the  father-in-law  of  Lawrence  Wash 
ington,  the  brother  of  George,  and  had  possessed 
every  opportunity  of  learning  the  character  and 
conduct  of  the  latter.  Assured  of  his  pious  and 
serious  deportment,  he  did  not  feel  any  hesi 
tation  in  suggesting  to  him  the  expediency  of  the 
duty  in  question.20 

"It  certainly  was  not  one  of  the  least  striking 
pictures  presented  in  this  wild  campaign — the 
youthful  commander,  presiding  with  calm  serious 
ness  over  a  motley  assemblage  of  half -equipped 
soldiery,  leathern-clad  hunters  and  woodsmen, 
and  painted  savages  with  their  wives  and  chil 
dren,  and  uniting  them  all  in  solemn  devotion  by 
his  own  example  and  demeanor."21 

ACKNOWLEDGES  AN  ACT  OF  PROVIDENCE 

In  a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  dated 
Great  Meadows,  June  10,  1754,  when  twenty- 
two  years  of  age,  we  have  the  following  striking 
acknowledgment  of  a  particular  providential 
interposition  in  supplying  with  provisions  the 
troops  recently  placed  under  his  command : 

We  have  been  six  days  without  flour,  and  there  is 
none  upon  the  road  for  our  relief  that  we  know  of, 
though  I  have  by  repeated  expresses  given  him 
timely  notice.  We  have  not  provisions  of  any 
sort  enough  in  camp  to  serve  us  two  days.  Once 
before  we  should  have  been  four  days  without  pro- 
1754]  38 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

visions,  if  Providence  had  not  sent  a  trader  from  the 
Ohio  to  our  relief,  for  whose  flour  I  was  obliged  to 
give  twenty-one  shillings  and  eight-pence  per  pound.22 

His  CUSTOM  TO  ATTEND  CHURCH 

That  it  was  customary  with  him  to  frequent 
the  house  of  God  when  in  his  power,  appears 
from  the  record  made  by  him  of  an  occurrence 
among  his  soldiers,  while  encamped  in  Alexan 
dria,  Virginia,  in  the  summer  of  1754,  having 
himself  returned  but  lately  on  a  recruiting  expe 
dition  from  the  Great  Meadows:  "Yesterday, 
while  we  were  at  church,  twenty-five  of  them  col 
lected,  and  were  going  off  in  the  face  of  their 
officers,  but  were  stopped  and  imprisoned  be 
fore  the  plot  came  to  its  height."23 

His    TRUST  IN  GOD 

In  April,  1755,  the  newly  arrived  General 
Braddock  offered  him  an  important  command. 
His  mother  opposed  his  going  to  the  war.  In 
the  final  discussion,  the  son  said  to  his  mother: 
"The  God  to  whom  you  commended  me,  madam, 
when  I  set  out  upon  a  more  perilous  errand, 
defended  me  from  all  harm,  and  I  trust  he  will 
do  so  now.  Do  not  you?"24 

CONDUCTS  BRADDOCK'S  FUNERAL 
General  Braddock  being  mortally  wounded  in 

Age  23]  39  [1755 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  battle  of  the  Monongahela,  July  9,  1755, 
died  on  Sunday  night,  July  13.  He  was  buried 
in  his  cloak  the  same  night  in  the  road,  to  elude 
the  search  of  the  Indians.  The  chaplain  having 
been  wounded,  Washington,  on  the  testimony  of 
an  old  soldier,  read  the  funeral  service  over  his 
remains,  by  the  light  of  a  torch.  Faithful  to  his 
commander  while  he  lived,  he  would  not  suffer 
him  to  want  the  customary  rites  of  religion  when 
dead.  Though  the  probable  pursuit  of  'savages 
threatened,  yet  did  his  humanity  and  sense  of 
decency  prevail,  to  gain  for  the  fallen  soldier 
the  honor  of  Christian  burial.25 

LETTER  TO  His  BROTHER 

He  wrote  to  his  brother,  John  A.  Washington, 
July  18,  1755,  following  Braddock's  defeat,  in 
which  he  says: 

As  I  have  heard,  since  my  arrival  at  this  place 
[Fort  Cumberland],  a  circumstantial  account  of  my 
death  and  dying  speech,  I  take  this  early  oppor 
tunity  of  contradicting  the  first,  and  of  assuring  you, 
that  I  have  not  as  yet  composed  the  latter.  But, 
by  the  all-powerful  dispensations  of  Providence,  I 
have  been  protected  beyond  all  human  probability 
or  expectation;  for  I  had  four  bullets  through  my 
coat,  and  two  horses  shot  under  me,  yet  escaped 
unhurt,  although  death  was  leveling  my  companions 
on  every  side  of  me!'*26 
1755]  4,0  [Age  23 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

THE  GREAT  SPIRIT  PROTECTS  HIM — 
TESTIMONY  OF  INDIAN  CHIEF 

Fifteen  years  after  this  battle  Washington 
and  Dr.  Craik,  his  intimate  friend  from  his  boy 
hood  to  his  death,  were  traveling  on  an  expedi 
tion  to  the  western  country,  for  the  purpose  of 
exploring  wild  lands.  While  near  the  junction 
of  the  Great  Kanawha  and  Ohio  Rivers  a  com 
pany  of  Indians  came  to  them  with  an  interpre 
ter,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  an  aged  and  ven 
erable  chief.  The  council  fire  was  kindled,  when 
the  chief  addressed  Washington  through  an  in 
terpreter  to  the  following  effect : 

"I  am  a  chief,  and  ruler  over  my  tribes.  My 
influence  extends  to  the  waters  of  the  great 
lakes,  and  to  the  far  blue  mountains.  I  have 
traveled  a  long  and  weary  path,  that  I  might 
see  the  young  warrior  of  the  great  battle.  It 
was  on  the  day  when  the  white  man's  blood 
mixed  with  the  streams  of  our  forest,  that  I  first 
beheld  this  chief.  I  called  to  my  young  men 
and  said,  mark  yon  tall  and  daring  warrior? 
He  is  not  of  the  red-coat  tribe — he  hath  an 
Indian's  wisdom,  and  his  warriors  fight  as  we 
do — himself  is  alone  exposed.  Quick,  let  your 
aim  be  certain,  and  he  dies.  Our  rifles  were 
leveled,  rifles  which,  but  for  him,  knew  not  how 
to  miss — 'twas  all  in  vain,  a  power  mightier  far 
than  we,  shielded  him  from  harm.  He  cannot 

Age  23]  41  [1755 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

die  in  battle.  I  am  old,  and  soon  shall  be  gath 
ered  to  the  great  council  fire  of  my  fathers  in 
the  land  of  shades,  but  ere  I  go,  there  is  some 
thing  bids  me  speak  in  the  voice  of  prophecy. 
Listen!  The  Great  Spirit  protects  that  man,  and 
guides  his  destinies — he  will  become  the  chief  of 
nations,  and  a  people  yet  unborn  will  hail  him  as 
the  founder  of  a  mighty  empire.9'27 

DISCOURAGES  GAMBLING  IN  THE  ARMY 
In  a  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie,  from  Alex 
andria,  Virginia,  February  2,  1756,  regarding 
operations  in  the  army,  he  says,  "I  have  always, 
so  far  as  was  in  my  power,  endeavored  to  dis 
courage  gambling  in  camp,  and  always  shall 
while  I  have  the  honor  to  preside  there."28 

INTEMPERANCE    AND    PROFANITY    DISCOUNTE 
NANCED 

The  following  letter  to  Governor  Dinwiddie, 
written  from  Winchester,  Virginia,  April  18, 
1756,  shows  his  attitude  toward  intemperance 
and  profanity: 

It  gave  me  infinite  concern  to  find  in  yours  by 
Governor  Innes  that  any  representations  should  in 
flame  the  Assembly  against  the  Virginia  regiment, 
or  give  cause  to  suspect  the  morality  and  good  be 
havior  of  the  officers.  How  far  any  of  the  individ 
uals  may  have  deserved  such  reflections,  I  will  not 
1756]  4$  [Age  24 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

take  upon  me  to  determine,  but  this  I  am  certain  of, 
and  can  call  my  conscience,  and  what,  I  suppose, 
will  be  still  more  demonstrative  proof  in  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  my,  orders,  to  witness  how  much  I  have, 
both  by  threats  and  persuasive  means,  endeavored 
to  discountenance  gambling,  drinking,  swearing,  and 
irregularities  of  every  other  kind;  while  I  have,  on 
the  other  hand,  practised  every  artifice  to  inspire 
a  laudable  emulation  in  the  officers  for  the  service 
of  their  country,  and  to  encourage  the  soldiers  in 
the  unerring  exercise  of  their  duty.  How  far  I  have 
failed  in  this  desirable  end  I  cannot  pretend  to  say. 
But  it  is  nevertheless  a  point  which  does,  in  my 
opinion,  merit  some  scrutiny,  before  it  meets  with  a 
final  condemnation.  Yet  I  will  not  undertake  to 
vouch  for  the  conduct  of  many  of  the  officers,  as 
I  know  there  are  some  who  have  the  seeds  of  idleness 
very  strongly  implanted  in  their  natures;  and  I  also 
know  that  the  unhappy  difference  about  the  com 
mand  which  has  kept  me  from  Fort  Cumberland,  has 
consequently  prevented  me  from  enforcing  the  orders 
which  I  never  failed  to  send. 

However,  if  I  continue  in  the  service,  I  shall  take 
care  to  act  with  a  little  more  rigor  than  has  hitherto 
been  practised,  since  I  find  it  so  necessary.29 

INTEMPERANCE  PUNISHED 
His  orders  for  preserving  discipline  must  be 
allowed  to  have    been  sufficiently  rigid.     The 
following  given  in  1756  is  a  specimen: 

Any  commissioned  officer,  who  stands  by  and  sees 
Age  24]  43  [1756 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

irregularities  committed,  and  does  not  endeavor  to 
quell  them,  shall  be  immediately  put  under  arrest. 
Any  non-commissioned  officer  present,  who  does  not 
interpose,  shall  be  immediately  reduced,  and  receive 
corporal  punishment. 

Any  soldier  who  shall  presume  to  quarrel  or  fight 
shall  receive  five  hundred  lashes,  without  the  benefit 
of  a  court-martial.  The  offender,  upon  complaint 
made,  shall  have  strict  justice  done  him.  Any  sol 
dier  found  drunk  shall  receive  one  hundred  lashes, 
without  benefit  of  a  court-martial.30 

PROFANITY  FORBIDDEN 

In  June,  1756,  while  at  Fort  Cumberland,  he 
issued  the  following  order : 

Colonel  Washington  has  observed  that  the  men  of 
his  regiment  are  very  profane  and  reprobate.  He 
takes  this  opportunity  to  inform  them  of  his  great 
displeasure  at  such  practices,  and  assures  them,  that, 
if  they  do  not  leave  them  off,  they  shall  be  severely 
punished.  The  officers  are  desired,  if  they  hear  any 
man  swear,  or  make  use  of  an  oath  or  execration,  to 
order  the  offender  twenty-five  lashes  immediately, 
without  a  court-martial.  For  the  second  offense, 
he  will  be  more  severely  punished.31 

PROTECTION  OF  PROVIDENCE 
From   Winchester,   Virginia,    where   he   was 
stationed  as  commander  of  the  troops,  he  writes 
to    Governor   Dinwiddie,    about   a   year    after 
Braddock's  defeat: 

1756]  44  [Age  24 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

With  this  small  company  of  irregulars,  with  whom 
order,  regularity,  circumspection,  and  vigilance  were 
matters  of  derision  and  contempt,  we  set  out,  and  by 
the  protection  of  Providence,  reached  Augusta 
Court  House  in  seven  days,  without  meeting  the 
enemy;  otherwise  we  must  have  fallen  a  sacrifice 
through  the  indiscretion  of  these  whooping,  hallooing, 
gentlemen  soldiers.32 

CHAPLAIN  FOR  ARMY 

While  embarked  in  the  French  and  Indian 
War,  as  commander  of  the  Virginia  forces,  he 
earnestly  sought  of  Governor  Dinwiddie  the 
supply  of  a  chaplain  to  his  regiment.  He  writes 
from  Mount  Vernon,  Virginia,  September  23, 
1756,  as  follows:  "The  want  of  a  chaplain,  I 
humbly  conceive,  reflects  dishonor  on  the  regi 
ment,  as  all  other  officers  are  allowed.  The 
gentlemen  of  the  corps  are  sensible  of  this,  and 
proposed  to  support  one  at  their  private  expense. 
But  I  think  it  would  have  a  more  graceful  ap 
pearance  were  he  appointed  as  others  are."33 

To  this  the  Governor  replied:  "I  have  recom 
mended  to  the  commissary  to  get  a  chaplain,  but 
he  cannot  prevail  with  any  person  to  accept  of 
it.  I  shall  again  press  it  to  him."34 

In  answer  to  which  Washington  wrote,  No 
vember  9, 1756 :  "As  to  a  chaplain,  if  the  govern 
ment  will  grant  a  subsistence,  we  can  readily 
get  a  person  of  merit  to  accept  the  place,  without 

Age  24]  45  [1756 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

giving  the  commissary  any  trouble  on  that 
point."35 

With  this  letter,  of  which  this  was  part,  the 
Governor  seemed  not  to  have  been  well  pleased. 
In  his  reply,  among  other  things,  indicating  dis 
pleasure,  he  says,  November  24,  1756:  "In 
regard  to  a  chaplain,  you  should  know  that  his 
qualifications  and  the  Bishop's  letter  of  license 
should  be  produced  to  the  commissary  and  my 
self;  but  this  person  is  also  nameless."36 

Washington  answered,  Nov.  24,  1756:  "When 
I  spoke  of  a  chaplain,  it  was  in  answer  to  yours.  I 
had  no  person  in  view,  though  many  have  offered; 
and  I  only  said  if  the  country  would  provide  sub 
sistence,  we  could  procure  a  chaplain,  without 
thinking  there  was  offense  in  expression."37 

Notwithstanding  the  importunity  of  Wash 
ington,  no  chaplain  was  provided  by  the  govern 
ment.  His  solicitude  on  the  subject  continuing 
at  the  recall  of  Dinwiddie,  he  wrote  to  the  presi 
dent  of  the  Council  from  Fort  Loudoun,  April 
17,  1758,  as  follows:  "The  last  Assembly,  in 
their  Supply  Bill,  provided  for  a  chaplain  to  our 
regiment.  On  this  subject  I  had  often  without 
any  success  applied  to  Governor  Dinwiddie.  I 
now  flatter  myself,  that  your  honor  will  be 
pleased  to  appoint  a  sober,  serious  man  for  this 
duty.  Common  decency,  Sir,  in  a  camp  calls 
for  the  services  of  a  divine,  which  ought  not  to 

1756]  46  [Age  24 


A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER 

be  dispensed  with,  although  the  world  should 
be  so  uncharitable  as  to  think  us  void  of  religion, 
and  incapable  of  good  instructions."38 

CONDUCTS  RELIGIOUS  SERVICE  IN  THE  ARMY 
"I  have  often  been  informed,"  says  the  Rev. 
Mason  L.  Weems,  "by  Colonel  B.  Temple,  of 
King  William  County,  Virginia,  who  was  one  of 
his  aides  in  the  French  and  Indian  War,  that  he 
has  'frequently  known  Washington,  on  the  Sab 
bath,  read  the  Scriptures  and  pray  with  his  regi 
ment,  in  the  absence  of  the  chaplain;'  and  also 
that,  on  sudden  and  unexpected  visits  to  his 
marque,  he  has,  'more  than  once,  found  him  on 
his  knees  at  his  devotions.'"39 

LETTER  TO  His  FIANCEE 
In  the  only  known  letter  to  Mrs.  Martha  Cus- 
tis,  to  whom  he  was  engaged,  written  from  Fort 
Cumberland,  July  20,  1758,  he  recognizes  an  all- 
powerful  Providence: 

We  have  begun  our  march  for  the  Ohio.  A  courier 
is  starting  for  Williamsburg,  and  I  embrace  the  op 
portunity  to  send  a  few  lines  to  one  whose  life  is  now 
inseparable  from  mine.  Since  that  happy  hour 
when  we  made  our  pledges  to  each  other,  my  thoughts 
have  been  continually  going  to  you  as  to  another 
Self.  That  an  All-powerful  Providence  may  keep 
us  both  in  safety  is  the  prayer  of  your  ever  faithful 
and  ever  affectionate  Friend.40 
Age  26]  47  [1758 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

MARRIAGE 

HE  was  married  January  6,  1759,  just  after 
the  battle  of  Fort  Duquesne,  to  Mrs.  Martha 
Custis,  by  the  Rev.  David  Mossom,  rector  of 
Saint  Peter's  Episcopal  Church,  New  Kent 
County,  Virginia.  Immediately  they  took  up 
their  residence  at  Mount  Vernon,  and  became 
very  active  in  church  affairs. 

BUYS  BIBLES  AND  PRAYER  BOOKS  FOR  STEP 
CHILDREN 

When  John  Parke  was  eight  years  old,  and  his 
sister  Patsey  six,  their  kind  stepfather,  writing 
to  London  in  October,  1761,  for  articles  of  cloth 
ing  and  other  things  for  the  two  children,  in 
cludes  the  following  for  Master  John: 

A  small  Bible  neatly  bound  in  Turkey,  and  John 
Parke  Custis  wrote  in  gilt  letters  on  the  inside  of  the 
cover. 

A  neat  small  Prayer  Book  bound  as  above,  with 
John  Parke  Custis  as  above. 

And  the  following  for  Miss  Patsey: 

1759]  48 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

A  neat,  small  Bible,  bound  in  Turkey,  and  Martha 
Parke  Custis  wrote  on  the  inside  in  gilt  letters. 

A  small  Prayer  Book  neat  and  in  the  same  man 
ner.41 

A  VESTRYMAN 

From  1748  till  1759  there  was  little  church- 
going  for  the  young  surveyor  or  soldier,  but  after 
his  marriage  and  settling  at  Mount  Vernon  he 
was  elected  vestryman  in  the  parish  of  Truro  and 
from  that  election  he  was  quite  active  in  church 
affairs. 

At  the  time  of  which  we  are  speaking,  "the 
Established,"  or  Episcopal  Church,  predomi 
nated  throughout  the  ancient  "dominion"  (Vir 
ginia),  as  it  was  termed;  each  county  was  divided 
into  parishes,  as  in  England,  each  with  its  church, 
its  parsonage,  and  glebe.  Truro  Parish  at  that 
time  contained  three  churches,  namely,  old  Po- 
hick,  the  old  Falls,  and  an  old  church  in  Alex 
andria. 

(1)     Elected  and  Qualified 

The  old  vestry  book  of  Pohick  Church  has 
this  entry:  "At  a  Vestry  held  for  Truro  Parish, 
October  25,  1762,  ordered,  that  George  Wash 
ington,  Esq.  be  chosen  and  appointed  one  of  the 
Vestry-men  of  this  Parish,  in  the  room  of 
William  Peake,  Gent,  deceased."42 

The  court  records  show  that  "At  a  Court 
held  for  the  County  of  Fairfax,  15th  February, 

Age  30]  49  [1762 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

1763 — George  Washington,  Esq.  took  the  oaths 
according  to  Law,  repeated  and  subscribed  the 
Test  and  subscribed  to  the  Doctrine  and  Disci 
pline  of  the  Church  of  England  in  order  to  qualify 
him  to  act  as  a  Vestryman  of  Truro  Parish." 

Thus  in  due  form  Washington  protested  his 
loyalty  and  his  orthodoxy,  and  took  his  place  as 
one  of  the  "twelve  most  able  and  discreet  men 
of  the  Parish,"  whom  the  old  statutes  required 
to  form  the  vestry.43 

Among  the  manuscripts  in  the  library  of  the 
New  York  Historical  Society  is  a  leaf  from  the 
church  record  of  Pohick.  It  contains  the  names 
of  the  first  vestry,  and  a  few  others.  The  fol 
lowing  is  a  copy  from  the  original.  The  names 
were  signed  at  different  times,  during  the  sum 
mer  and  autumn  of  1765: 

"I,  A  B,  do  declare  that  I  will  be  conformable  to 
the  Doctrine  and  Discipline  of  the  Church  of  Eng 
land,  as  by  law  established. 

"1765.     May  20th— Thomas  Withers  Coffer, 

Thomas  Ford,  John  Ford. 
"19th     August — Geo.     Washington,     Daniel 
M'Carty,"  etc.44 

(2)     Vestry  Meetings 

The  vestry  seems  to  have  met  statedly  twice 
a  year,  and  at  other  times  as  occasion  demanded. 
The  meetings  were  usually  held  at  one  of  the 

1765]  50  [Age  33 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

churches,  but  occasionally  at  the  house  of  one  or 
another  of  the  vestrymen;  and  sometimes  they 
lasted  two  or  three  days.  Attendance  upon 
these  meetings  from  Mount  Vernon  involved  a 
ride,  going  and  returning,  of  from  fourteen  to 
forty  miles.  The  vestry  records  attest,  how 
ever,  the  regularity  with  which  Colonel  Wash 
ington  was  present;  and  when  it  is  remembered 
how  frequently  his  public  duties  and  private 
interests  took  him  out  of  the  county,  one  is 
readily  convinced  that  he  brought  to  the  dis 
charge  of  the  duties  of  this  office  the  same  con 
scientious  purpose  and  fidelity  which  marked 
his  career  in  more  conspicuous  stations.  In  his 
diary,  though  kept  irregularly  during  this  period, 
there  are  frequent  references  to  his  attending 
vestry  meetings,  such  as  the  following: 

1768— July  16— Went  by  Muddy  Hole  and  Dog 
Run  to  the  vestry  at  Pohick  Church — stayed  there 
till  after  3  o'clock  and  only  four  members  coming, 
returned  by  Captain  McCartys  and  dined  there. 

September  9 — proceeded  [from  Alexandria]  to  the 
meeting  of  our  Vestry  at  the  new  Church  [Payne's] 
and  lodged  at  Captain  Edward  Payne's. 

Nov.  28— Went  to  the  Vestry  at  Pohick  Church. 

1769— March  3— Went  to  the  Vestry  at  Pohick 
Church  and  returned  at  11  o'clock  at  night. 

Sept.  23 — Captain  Posey  called  here  in  the  morn 
ing  and  we  went  to  a  Vestry. 
Age  36]  51  [1768 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

1772 — June  5 —  Met  the  Vestry  at  our  new  Church 
[Payne's]  and  came  home  in  the  afternoon. 

1774— Feb.  15—1  went  to  a  Vestry  at  the  new 
Church  [Payne's]  and  returned  in  the  afternoon. 

Until  called  to  the  North  in  the  service  of  his 
country,  Washington  continued  in  active  and 
untiring  service  as  a  vestryman,  and  nominally 
held  the  office  during  the  Revolutionary  War.45 

Washington  resigned  from  the  Vestry  in  1782, 
in  a  letter  to  Captain  Daniel  McCarty,  Esq., 
also  a  member,  after  a  continuous  membership  of 
twenty  years.46 

(3)     A  Church  Warden 

The  Church  wardens  were  generally  the  ex 
ecutive  and  accounting  officers  of  the  vestry, 
having  oversight  of  the  church  buildings  and 
making  repairs,  and  being  charged  with  the 
relief  of  the  poor  and  binding  out  orphans  and 
indigent  children  as  apprentices,  making  careful 
provision  for  their  moral  training  and  a  meager 
education.  They  had  also  to  present  to  the 
court  or  grand  jury  persons  guilty  of  Sabbath- 
breaking,  of  not  attending  church,  or  disturbing 
public  worship,  of  drunkenness,  profane  swear 
ing,  and  other  more  serious  immoralities,  and  to 
receive  the  fines  imposed  in  certain  cases  for  the 
use  of  the  parish.  Church  wardens  were  elected 
each  year;  and  in  Truro  the  more  prominent 

1774]    '  52  [Age  42 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

or  more  willing  vestrymen  seem  to  have  served 
in  some  sort  of  rotation.  Washington  held  this 
office  for  three  terms  at  least  within  ten  years.47 

(4)     Falls  Church 

The  Falls  Church  derived  its  name  from  one 
of  the  falls  of  the  Potomac.  Originally  it  be 
longed  to  Truro  Parish,  being  served  by  the 
same  rector  and  the  same  vestry,  of  which  Wash 
ington  was  a  member.  Later  it  became  a  part 
of  Fairfax  Parish,  in  which  was  Christ  Church, 
Alexandria. 

The  old  Truro  Parish  Vestry  book  records  a 
meeting  of  the  vestry  at  the  Falls  Church  on 
March  28,  1763,  at  which  George  Washington 
was  present.  At  that  meeting  it  was  resolved 
to  erect  a  new  building  at  the  same  place.  In 
Washington's  diary  for  1764  is  entered  a  copy  of 
an  advertisement  for  "undertakers  to  build 
Falls  Church,"  showing  him  to  have  been  on  its 
original  building  committee.48 

(5)     Payne's  Church 

The  vestry  records  show  that  "At  a  Vestry 
held  for  Truro  Parish,  the  28th,  29th  and  30th 
days  of  November,  1765,"  George  Washington 
being  present,  it  was  decided  to  build  a  new 
church  in  the  upper  part  of  the  parish. 

"At  a  Vestry  held  for  Truro  Parish  at  Mr. 

Age  31]  53  [1763 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

William  Gardner's  on  the  3d  and  4th  days  of 
February,  1766,"  the  site  was  chosen  and  the 
contract  let.  George  Washington  was  made 
chairman  of  the  building  committee.  The 
church  became  known  as  Payne's  Church,  from 
the  name  of  the  builder.  It  is  in  Fairfax 
County.49 

(6)     Pohick  Church 

Before  the  Revolution,  Washington's  regular 
place  of  worship  was  Pohick  Church,  seven  miles 
west  of  Mount  Vernon,  although  sometimes  he 
went  to  the  Episcopal  Church  in  Alexandria, 
Virginia,  ten  miles  north,  both  being  in  the  same 
parish. 

Pohick  Church  derived  its  curious  name  from 
a  small  river  near  it.  Mount  Vernon  was  in 
Truro  Parish,  and  when  the  old  place  of  worship 
went  to  decay  (1767)  there  was  considerable  ex 
citement  among  the  people  as  to  the  location  of 
the  new  one.  A  meeting  for  settling  the  ques 
tion  was  finally  held,  and  after  George  Mason 
had  made  a  very  pathetic  speech,  calling  upon 
those  present  not  to  desert  the  spot  which  had 
been  made  sacred  by  the  bones  of  their  ancestors, 
Washington  arose,  and  drew  from  his  pocket  an 
accurate  survey  of  the  whole  parish,  in  which 
were  marked  the  site  of  the  old  church,  and  the 
proposed  location  of  the  new  one,  with  the  resi 
dence  of  each  parishioner.  Having  spread  out 

1767]  54  [Age  35 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

the  map,  and  briefly  explained  it,  he  expressed 
the  hope  that  they  would  not  suffer  their  better 
judgments  to  be  overruled  by  their  feelings,  and 
sat  down.  The  silent  argument  of  the  map  was 
perfectly  convincing  and  the  new  site  was  de 
termined  on.50 

In  the  year  1769  the  plans  of  the  new  building 
were  drawn  up,  it  is  said,  by  Washington.51  He 
was  chairman  of  the  building  committee  and 
supervised  its  erection.  "A  large  share  of  the 
expense  incurred  in  its  erection  was  borne  by 
Washington  himself."52 

CHURCH  ATTENDANCE 

He  attended  at  one  or  the  other  of  these 
(Pohick  or  Alexandria)  with  his  family  every 
Sunday,  except  when  the  weather  was  too  in 
clement,  and  in  such  cases  he  read  the  church 
service  in  the  parlor  at  home. 

His  demeanor  in  church  was  always  reveren 
tial  and  devout.  He  bore  his  part  in  the  re 
sponse,  and  bowed  his  head  at  the  mention  of 
the  name  of  Jesus  in  the  Creed.  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  and  himself  were  both  communicants. 
As  soon  as  the  Custis  children  were  old  enough 
they  were  instructed  in  the  Church  Catechism.53 
"Mrs.  Washington  knelt  during  the  prayers; 
he  always  stood,  as  was  the  custom  at  that 
time."54 

Age  37]  55  [1769 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

PUBLIC  WORSHIP 

The  Rev.  Lee  Massey  was  the  rector  of  the 
parish  (Pohick  Church)  at  the  time  referred  to. 
He  was  a  highly  respectable  man  and  shared 
much  of  the  esteem  of  Washington.  In  regard 
to  the  religious  deportment  of  his  distinguished 
friend,  especially  in  the  house  of  God,  he  was 
often  heard  to  express  himself  in  the  following 
strain:  "I  never  knew  so  constant  an  attendant 
on  church  as  Washington.  And  his  behavior  in 
the  house  of  God  was  ever  so  deeply  reverential 
that  it  produced  the  happiest  effects  on  my  con 
gregation,  and  greatly  assisted  me  in  my  pulpit 
labors."55 

NOT  KEPT  FROM  CHURCH  BY  COMPANY 
"No  company  ever  withheld  him  from  church," 
says  the  Rev.  Lee  Massey.  "I  have  often  been 
at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  Sabbath  morning  when 
his  breakfast  table  was  filled  with  guests,  but 
to  him  they  furnished  no  pretext  for  neglect 
ing  his  God,  and  losing  the  satisfaction  of  set 
ting  a  good  example.  For,  instead  of  staying 
at  home,  out  of  false  complaisance  to  them, 
he  used  constantly  to  invite  them  to  accom 
pany  him."56 

EXTRACTS  FROM  DIARY 
The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  (1768) 

1768]  56  [Age  36 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

covering  a  few  months  are  evidence  of  his  faith 
ful  attendance  at  church  at  home  or  abroad: 

May  8th,  Went  to  Church  from  Colonel  Bassett's. 

May  22nd,  Went  to  Church  at  Nomini. 

May  29th,  church  at  St.  Paul's. 

June  5th,  to  church  at  Alexandria. 

June  12th,  at  Pohick. 

August,  Nomini  in  Westmoreland. 

November  15th,  at  Pohick.57 

A  COMMUNICANT 

In  1835  the  Rev.  E.  C.  M'Guire,  rector  of  the 
Episcopal  church  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
writes  as  follows: 

Among  the  aged  persons  residing  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  descendants  of  such 
others,  as  have  recently  gone  down  to  the  grave, 
there  is  but  one  opinion  in  regard  to  the  fact  of  his 
having  been  a  communicant  in  the  Pohick  Church, 
previous  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  writer 
himself  had  it  from  a  respectable  lady,  that  she  had 
once  heard  her  mother  unqualifiedly  declare  that 
General  Washington  was  a  communicant  in  that 
church,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  she  had  her  residence, 
and  on  the  services  of  which  she  attended.  A  living 
granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Lee  Massey,  rector  of 
Mount  Vernon  Parish  for  some  years  after  Washing 
ton's  marriage,  says  her  grandfather  on  a  special 
occasion  told  her  the  same  thing  in  answer  to  a  par 
ticular  inquiry  on  the  subject.58 
Age  36]  57  [1768 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

PUBLIC  WORSHIP 

The  Rev.  Lee  Massey  was  the  rector  of  the 
parish  (Pohick  Church)  at  the  time  referred  to. 
He  was  a  highly  respectable  man  and  shared 
much  of  the  esteem  of  Washington.  In  regard 
to  the  religious  deportment  of  his  distinguished 
friend,  especially  in  the  house  of  God,  he  was 
often  heard  to  express  himself  in  the  following 
strain:  "I  never  knew  so  constant  an  attendant 
on  church  as  Washington.  And  his  behavior  in 
the  house  of  God  was  ever  so  deeply  reverential 
that  it  produced  the  happiest  effects  on  my  con 
gregation,  and  greatly  assisted  me  in  my  pulpit 
labors."55 

NOT  KEPT  FROM  CHURCH  BY  COMPANY 
"No  company  ever  withheld  him  from  church," 
says  the  Rev.  Lee  Massey.  "I  have  often  been 
at  Mount  Vernon  on  the  Sabbath  morning  when 
his  breakfast  table  was  filled  with  guests,  but 
to  him  they  furnished  no  pretext  for  neglect 
ing  his  God,  and  losing  the  satisfaction  of  set 
ting  a  good  example.  For,  instead  of  staying 
at  home,  out  of  false  complaisance  to  them, 
he  used  constantly  to  invite  them  to  accom 
pany  him."56 

EXTRACTS  FROM  DIARY 
The  following  extracts  from  his  diary  (1768) 

1768]  56  [Age  36 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

covering  a  few  months  are  evidence  of  his  faith 
ful  attendance  at  church  at  home  or  abroad: 

May  8th,  Went  to  Church  from  Colonel  Bassett's. 

May  22nd,  Went  to  Church  at  Nomini. 

May  29th,  church  at  St.  Paul's. 

June  5th,  to  church  at  Alexandria. 

June  12th,  at  Pohick. 

August,  Nomini  in  Westmoreland. 

November  15th,  at  Pohick.57 

A  COMMUNICANT 

In  1835  the  Rev.  E.  C.  M'Guire,  rector  of  the 
Episcopal  church  at  Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
writes  as  follows: 

Among  the  aged  persons  residing  in  the  neighbor 
hood  of  Mount  Vernon,  and  the  descendants  of  such 
others,  as  have  recently  gone  down  to  the  grave, 
there  is  but  one  opinion  in  regard  to  the  fact  of  his 
having  been  a  communicant  in  the  Pohick  Church, 
previous  to  the  Revolutionary  War.  The  writer 
himself  had  it  from  a  respectable  lady,  that  she  had 
once  heard  her  mother  unqualifiedly  declare  that 
General  Washington  was  a  communicant  in  that 
church,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  she  had  her  residence, 
and  on  the  services  of  which  she  attended.  A  living 
granddaughter  of  the  Rev.  Lee  Massey,  rector  of 
Mount  Vernon  Parish  for  some  years  after  Washing 
ton's  marriage,  says  her  grandfather  on  a  special 
occasion  told  her  the  same  thing  in  answer  to  a  par 
ticular  inquiry  on  the  subject.58 
Age  36]  57  [1768 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

"He  partook  regularly  of  the  communion  un 
til  he  entered  the  office  of  general  in  the  Ameri 
can  Army/'59 

It  was  the  custom  in  the  colonial  churches  to  ad 
minister  communion  only  at  Christmas,  Easter, 
and  Whitsuntide,  and  it  was  not  an  uncommon 
practice  for  communicants  to  receive  only  once 
a  year. 

WAS  NOT  CONFIRMED 

There  was  no  bishop  in  this  country,  and  con 
sequently  no  administration  of  confirmation 
until  after  the  Revolution.  There  were  many 
unconfirmed  communicants  in  the  church  in 
the  colonial  days.  The  first  bishop  for  the 
colonies  was  the  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Seabury.  He 
was  consecrated  at  Aberdeen,  Scotland,  No 
vember  14,  1784.  It  was  early  in  1785  when  he 
arrived  in  America.  Washington  was  then  fifty- 
three  years  old.  Having  been  a  communicant 
and  active  in  church  affairs  all  his  life,  he  prob 
ably  did  not  feel  the  necessity  of  being  confirmed 
at  his  age.  It  is  very  likely  that  he  did  not 
relish  having  an  English-ordanied  bishop,  for 
in  his  diary,  October  10,  1785,  among  other 
things,  he  adds,  "nor  any  desire  to  open  corre 
spondence  with  the  new  ordained  bishop."60 

GRACE  AT  TABLE 

But  it  was  not  in  the  duties  of  public  worship 
58 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

alone  that  Washington  was  careful  to  bear  his 
part.  Probably  few  Christians  have  been  more 
attentive  to  their  private  devotions,  at  all  times, 
and  in  all  circumstances.  No  matter  how  ur 
gent  the  business  which  engaged  his  attention, 
he  never  forgot  his  daily  dependence  upon  God, 
and  that  his  favor  must  be  sought  in  earnest 
prayer. 

It  may  be  properly  added,  as  an  evidence  of 
his  devotional  habits,  that  he  always  said  grace 
at  table.  On  one  occasion  from  the  force  of 
habit  he  performed  this  duty  when  a  clergyman 
was  present — an  instance  of  indecorum  quite 
unusual  with  him.  Being  told  of  the  incivility, 
after  the  minister's  departure,  he  expressed  his 
regret  at  the  oversight,  but  added,  "The  reverend 
gentleman  will  at  least  be  assured  that  we  are 
not  entirely  graceless  at  Mount  Vernon."61 

PEW  IN  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH,  ALEXANDRIA 
The  new  parish  of  Fairfax  was  separated  from 
Truro  Parish  June  7,  1765.  It  included  Falls 
Church  and  the  church  at  Alexandria,  Virginia.62 
There  is  no  evidence  that  Washington  was  a 
vestryman  in  this  Parish,  as  has  been  stated  by 
some  writers.  A  former  attempt  had  been  made 
to  establish  Fairfax  Parish,  and  he  had  been  elect 
ed  a  vestryman,  but  the  parish  never  was  organ 
ized,  nor  did  the  vestry  ever  meet  or  qualify.63 

59 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

A  new  building  was  erected  in  Alexandria. 
It  was  completed  in  1773.  On  the  day  it  was 
turned  over  to  the  vestry,  February  27,  1773, 
additional  funds  being  needed,  Washington  pur 
chased  for  thirty-six  pounds,  10  shillings,  the 
pew  then  known  as  Number  5,  the  highest  price 
paid. 

The  Washington  pew  is  the  only  square  pew 
left,  the  others  having  been  cut  down  and 
divided.  He  attended  this  church  frequently 
before  the  Revolution,  and  regularly  after  his 
retirement  to  Mount  Vernon.64 

GOING  TO  CHURCH  IN  THE  FAMILY  COACH 
"To  the  churchgoers  the  great  family  coach 
of  the  Washingtons  was  a  familiar  sight.  Made 
in  England,  it  was  both  substantial  and  elegant, 
if  somewhat  heavy.  Four  horses  were  necessary 
to  draw  it,  but  when  the  Virginia  roads  were 
very  bad  six  were  used;  and  to  each  span  of 
horses  there  were  the  liveried  postillion  riders."65 

PRAYS  AT  BEDSIDE  OF  DYING  STEPDAUGHTER 

Mrs.  Washington's  only  remaining  daughter 
(Martha)  died  on  the  19th  of  June,  1773,  at  the 
age  of  sixteen.  She  was  naturally  of  a  frail  con 
stitution,  and  had  for  many  months  been  gradu 
ally  fading  away.  The  heat  of  summer  seemed 
rapidly  to  develop  the  seeds  of  consumption 

1773]  go  [Age  41 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

which  were  lurking  in  her  system,  and  when  her 
affectionate  stepfather,  the  only  father  she  had 
ever  known,  returned  home,  after  a  short  ab 
sence  at  Williamsburg  on  public  duty,  he  was 
shocked  to  discover  the  change.  The  tender  and 
doting  mother,  upon  whose  watchful  care  the 
prolonged  illness  of  the  feeble  child  had  made 
large  drafts,  was  nearly  overwhelmed  with  grief, 
and  Washington,  falling  on  his  knees  at  the 
bedside,  with  a  passionate  burst  of  tears,  prayed 
aloud  that  the  loved  one  might  be  spared.66 
"Upon  the  wings  of  that  holy  prayer  her  spirit 
ascended,  and  when  he  arose  and  looked  upon 
her  pale  and  placid  face,  death  had  set  its  seal 
there." 

"The  sweet,  innocent  girl,"  Washington  wrote, 
"entered  into  a  more  happy  and  peaceful  abode 
than  she  had  met  with  in  the  afflicted  path  she 
had  hitherto  trod."67 

FASTING 

In  the  year  1774  Washington  went  to  Wil 
liamsburg  as  a  member  of  the  house  of  burgesses. 
The  horizon  of  our  country  was  then  becoming 
dark  with  clouds,  portending  the  approach  of 
war.  In  the  month  of  May,  a  short  time  after 
the  members  had  assembled,  information  was 
received  of  an  act  of  Parliament  for  shutting  up 
the  port  of  Boston — to  take  effect  on  the  first 

Age  42]  61  [1774 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

of  June.  (The  purpose  was  to  crush  the  little 
rebel  town  of  Boston,  because  of  the  "Boston 
Tea  Party.")  The  members  being  much  ex 
cited  by  this  hostile  proceeding  on  the  part  of 
the  British  government,  when  they  met  on  the 
24th  day  of  May,  passed  an  order  that  the  1st 
day  of  June  "should  be  set  apart  by  that  house 
as  a  day  of  fasting,  humiliation,  and  prayer, 
devoutly  to  implore  the  divine  interposition  for 
averting  the  heavy  calamity  which  threatened 
destruction  to  their  civil  rights,  and  the  evils  of 
civil  war,  and  to  give  them  one  heart  and  one 
mind,  firmly  to  oppose,  by  all  just  and  proper 
means,  every  injury  to  American  rights." 

June  the  first  being  the  day  appointed,  the 
following  brief  entry  is  found  in  a  diary  kept  by 
Washington  at  that  time: 

"June  1st,  Wednesday. — Went  to  church,  and 
fasted  all  day,"68  thus  conforming  not  only  to 
the  spirit,  but  to  the  strict  letter  of  the  order. 

"He  always  meant  what  he  said,  being  of  a 
simple  nature,  and  when  he  fasted  and  prayed 
there  was  something  ominously  earnest  about 
it,  something  that  his  excellency  the  Governor, 
who  liked  the  Society  of  this  agreeable  man  and 
wise  counselor,  would  have  done  well  to  consider 
and  draw  conclusions  from,  which  he  probably 
did  not  heed  at  all.  He  might  have  reflected, 
as  he  undoubtedly  failed  to  do,  that  when  men 

1774]  ($%  [Age  42 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

of  the  George  Washington  type  fast  and  pray 
on  account  of  political  misdoings,  it  is  well  for 
their  opponents  to  look  to  it  carefully."69 

ANNOUNCES  DECISION  TO  FIGHT 
After  service  (at  Alexandria)  one  Sunday 
morning  in  the  summer  of  1774,  surrounded  by 
the  congregation,  every  one  of  whom  he  well 
knew,  Washington  advocated  withdrawing  alle 
giance  from  King  George,  and  stated  that  he 
would  fight  to  uphold  the  independence  of  the 
colonies.  No  more  solemn  time  or  occasion 
could  have  been  chosen.  With  calmness,  in  a 
spirit  of  prayerful  deliberation,  he  announced 
his  momentous  decision  under  the  very  shadow 
of  the  church.70 

WASHINGTON  KNEELS  DURING  PRAYER 
The  first  of  September,  1774,  Washington  left 
home  for  Philadelphia  as  a  member  from  Vir 
ginia  of  the  First  Continental  Congress  about  to 
meet  in  that  city.  It  met  on  the  fifth.  The 
first  two  days  were  spent  in  organizing  and 
arranging  preliminaries,  when  it  was  proposed 
that  the  sessions  should  be  opened  with  prayer. 
The  Rev.  Jacob  Duche,  an  Episcopal  clergyman, 
was  invited  to  officiate.  The  first  morning, 
September  7,  1774,  he  read  the  thirty-fifth 
psalm,  which  begins  as  follows: 

Age  42]  gg  [1774 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

"Plead  my  cause,  O  Lord,  with  them  that 
strive  with  me:  fight  against  them  that  fight 
against  me. 

"Take  hold  of  shield  and  buckler,  and  stand 
up  for  mine  help. 

"Draw  out  also  the  spear,  and  stop  the  way 
against  them  that  persecute  me:  say  unto  my 
soul,  I  am  thy  salvation." 

After  the  Psalm,  Mr.  Duche  offered  the  fol 
lowing  prayer:  "O  Lord  our  Heavenly  Father, 
high  and  mighty  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of 
Lords,  who  dost  from  Thy  throne  behold  all  the 
dwellers  on  earth,  and  reignest  with  power 
supreme  and  uncontrolled  over  all  kingdoms, 
empires  and  governments;  look  down  in  mercy 
we  beseech  Thee,  on  these  American  States,  who 
have  fled  to  Thee  from  the  rod  of  the  oppressor, 
and  thrown  themselves  on  Thy  gracious  protec 
tion,  desiring  to  be  henceforth  dependent  only 
on  Thee;  to  Thee  they  have  appealed  for  the 
righteousness  of  their  cause;  to  Thee  do  they 
now  look  up  for  that  countenance  and  support 
which  Thou  alone  canst  give;  take  them,  there 
fore,  Heavenly  Father,  under  Thy  nurturing 
care;  give  them  wisdom  in  council,  and  valor  in 
the  field;  defeat  the  malicious  designs  of  our 
cruel  adversaries,  convince  them  of  the  un 
righteousness  of  their  cause;  and  if  they  still 
persist  in  their  sanguinary  purposes,  O  let  the 

1774]  64  [Age  42 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

voice  of  Thine  own  unerring  justice  sounding  in 
their  hearts  constrain  them  to  drop  the  weapons 
of  war  from  their  unnerved  hands  in  the  day  of 
battle.  Be  Thou  present,  O  God  of  wisdom, 
and  direct  the  councils  of  this  honorable  assem 
bly;  enable  them  to  settle  things  on  the  best  and 
surest  foundation,  that  the  scene  of  blood  may 
be  speedily  closed,  that  order,  harmony,  and 
peace,  may  be  effectually  restored;  and  truth 
and  justice,  religion  and  piety,  prevail  and  flour 
ish  amongst  Thy  people.  Preserve  the  health 
of  their  bodies  and  the  vigor  of  their  minds; 
shower  down  on  them  and  the  millions  they  here 
represent,  such  temporal  blessings  as  Thou  seest 
expedient  for  them  in  this  world  and  crown  them 
with  everlasting  glory  in  the  world  to  come. 
All  this  we  ask  in  the  name  and  through  the 
merits  of  Jesus  Christ,  Thy  Son,  our  Saviour. 
Amen."71 

JOHN  ADAMS'S  LETTER 

John  Adams,  in  a  letter  to  his  wife  on  the  day 
following,  thus  describes  the  scene: 

"You  must  remember  this  was  the  morning 
after  we  heard  the  horrible  rumor  of  the  cannon 
ade  of  Boston.  I  never  saw  a  greater  effect 
upon  an  audience.  It  seemed  as  if  heaven  had 
ordained  that  psalm  to  be  read  on  that  morning. 
After  this  Mr.  Duche  unexpectedly  to  every- 

Age  42]  65  [1774 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

body  struck  out  into  an  extemporary  prayer, 
which  filled  the  bosom  of  every  man  present. 
Episcopalian  as  he  is,  Doctor  Cooper  himself 
never  prayed  with  such  fervor,  such  ardor,  such 
earnestness  and  pathos,  and  in  language  so  elo 
quent  and  sublime,  for  America,  for  the  Con 
gress,  for  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay, 
and  especially  the  town  of  Boston.  It  had  an 
excellent  effect  upon  everybody  here."72 

"Washington  was  kneeling,  and  Henry,  and 
Randolph,  and  Rutledge,  and  Lee,  and  Jay,  and 
by  their  sides  there  stood,  bowed  in  reverence, 
the  Puritan  patriots  of  New  England." 

ATTENDS  PUBLIC  WORSHIP 

The  following  entries  made  in  his  diary,  show 
him  still  mindful  of  the  Sabbath  day,  and  of  the 
the  duty  of  public  worship.  Being  a  stranger 
in  the  city,  and  lodging  at  a  public  house,  there 
may  not  have  been  the  regularity  of  attendance 
which  usually  distinguished  him: 

September  25th — Went  to  Quaker  meeting  in  the 
forenoon,  and  to  St.  Peter's  in  the  afternoon;  dined 
at  my  lodgings. 

October  2d — Went  to  church,  and  dined  at  the  new 
tavern. 

9th — Went  to  the  Presbyterian  meeting  in  the 
afternoon;  dined  at  Bevan's. 

16th — Went  to  Christ  church  in  the  morning;  after 
1774]  [Age  42 


THE  ACTIVE  CHURCHMAN 

which  rode  to  and  dined  at  the  Province  Island; 
supped  at  Byrn's.73 

"HE  is  ALWAYS  RIGHT" 
Mrs.  Washington  ardently  sympathized  with 
her  husband  in  his  patriotic  measures.  To  a 
kinswoman  who  deprecated  what  she  called  "his 
folly"  Mrs.  Washington  wrote  in  1774:  "Yes, 
I  foresee  consequences — dark  days,  domestic 
happiness  suspended,  social  enjoyments  aban 
doned,  and  eternal  separations  on  earth  possible. 
But  my  mind  is  made  up,  my  heart  is  in  the 
cause.  George  is  right;  he  is  always  right.  God 
has  promised  to  protect  the  righteous,  and  I 
will  trust  Him."74 


Age  42]  57  [1774 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF     TRUSTS 
IN  GOD 

"Goo  ON  OUR  SIDE" 

WHEN  General  Washington  was  told  that  the 
British  troops  at  Lexington,  on  the  memorable 
19th  of  April,  1775,  had  fired  on  and  killed 
several  of  the  Americans,  he  replied:  "/  grieve 
for  the  death  of  my  countrymen;  but  rejoice  that 
the  British  are  still  determined  to  keep  God  on  our 
side,9'  alluding  to  that  noble  sentiment  which 
he  later  so  happily  expressed,  viz:  "The  smiles 
of  Heaven  can  never  be  expected  on  a  nation  that 
disregards  the  eternal  rules  of  order  and  right, 
which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained."75 

LETTERS  TO  His  WIFE 

In  a  letter  to  his  wife,  on  Sunday,  June  18, 
1775,  from  Philadelphia,  he  expresses  his  trust 
in  God  as  follows:  "I  shall  rely,  therefore,  con 
fidently  on  that  Providence,  which  has  hereto 
fore  preserved  and  been  bountiful  to  me,  not 
doubting  but  that  I  shall  return  safe  to  you  in 
the  fall."76 

Just  as  he  was  leaving  Philadelphia  to  take 

1775]  8 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

command  of  the  army,  in  another  letter  to  his 
wife,  June  22, 1775,  he  says:  "I  go,  fully  trusting 
in  that  Providence  which  has  been  more  bountiful 
to  me  than  I  deserve,  and  in  full  confidence  of  a 
happy  meeting  with  you  in  the  fall."77 

FIRST  GENERAL  ORDER  TO  THE  ARMY 
July  4,  1775,  the  day  after  he  took  command 
of  the  army,  an  order  was  issued,  in  which  we 
find  the  following  injunction: 

The  General  most  earnestly  requires  and  expects  a 
due  observance  of  those  articles  of  war  established 
for  the  government  of  the  army,  which  forbid  pro 
fane  cursing,  swearing,  and  drunkenness.  And  in 
like  manner  he  requires  and  expects  of  all  officers 
and  soldiers,  not  engaged  in  actual  duty,  a  punctual 
attendance  on  Divine  service,  to  implore  the  blessing 
of  Heaven  upon  the  means  used  for  our  safety  and 
defense.78 

PRAYERS  EVERY  MORNING 
A  few  days  after  this  order  was  published,  the 
Rev.  William  Emerson,  who  was  a  minister  at 
Concord  at  the  time  of  the  battle,  and  now  a 
chaplain  in  the  army,  writes  to  a  friend:  "There 
is  great  overturning  in  the  camp  as  to  order  and 
regularity.  New  lords,  new  laws.  The  Gen 
erals  Washington  and  Lee  are  upon  the  lines 
every  day.  New  orders  from  his  Excellency  are 

Age  43]  69  [1775 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

read  to  the  respective  regiments  every  morning, 
after  prayers."79 

ORDERS  ARMY  TO  ATTEND  DIVINE  SERVICE 
The  Continental  Congress  having  ordered  a 
day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  General  Washington 
issued  the  following  order,  July  20,  1775: 

The  General  orders  this  day  to  be  religiously  ob 
served  by  the  Forces  under  his  Command,  exactly 
in  manner  directed  by  the  Continental  Congress. 
It  is  therefore  strictly  enjoined  on  all  Officers  and 
Soldiers  to  attend  Divine  Service;  and  it  is  expected 
that  all  those  who  go  to  worship  do  take  their  Arms, 
Ammunition,  and  Accoutrements,  &  are  prepared 
for  immediate  action  if  called  upon.80 

SUCCESS  DEPENDS  UPON  ALL- WISE  DISPOSER 

OF  EVENTS 

He  sends  a  circular  to  the  major  and  brigadier- 
generals,  from  the  camp  at  Cambridge,  Septem 
ber  8,  1775,  asking  their  judgment  of  a  proposed 
attack  on  the  British  at  Boston,  saying:  "The 
success  of  such  an  enterprise  depends,  I  well 
know,  upon  the  All-W7ise  Disposer  of  events, 
and  it  is  not  within  the  reach  of  human  wisdom 
to  fortell  the  issue."81 

RIGHTS  OF  CONSCIENCE 
In  his  instructions  to  Benedict  Arnold  for 

1775]  70  [Age  43 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

his  campaign  against  Quebec,  given  at  head 
quarters,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  Septem 
ber  14,  1775,  the  last  of  fourteen  items  reads  as 
follows: 

As  the  contempt  of  the  religion  of  a  country  by 
ridiculing  any  of  its  ceremonies,  or  affronting  its 
ministers  or  votaries,  has  ever  been  deeply  resented, 
you  are  to  be  particularly  careful  to  restrain  every 
officer  and  soldier  from  such  imprudence  and  folly,  j 
and  to  punish  every  instance  of  it.  On  the  other 
hand,  as  far  as  lies  in  your  power,  you  are  to  protect 
and  support  the  free  exercise  of  the  religion  of  the 
country,  and  the  undisturbed  enjoyment  of  the 
rights  of  conscience  in  religious  matters,  with  your 
utmost  influence  and  authority.82 

"RIGHTS  OF  CONSCIENCE" 

In  a  letter  to  Colonel  Benedict  Arnold  the 
same  day,  September  14,  1775,  he  says: 

I  also  give  it  in  charge  to  you  to  avoid  all  dis 
respect  of  the  religion  of  the  country,  and  its  cere 
monies.  Prudence,  policy,  and  a  true  Christian 
spirit  will  lead  us  to  look  with  compassion  upon  their 
errors  without  insulting  them.  While  we  are  con 
tending  for  our  own  liberty,  we  should  be  very  cau 
tious  not  to  violate  the  rights  of  conscience  in  others, 
ever  considering  that  God  alone  is  the  judge  of  the 
hearts  of  men,  and  to  Him  only  in  this  case  they  are 
answerable.83 
Age  43]  71  [1775 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

MESSAGE  TO  THE  INHABITANTS  OF  CANADA 
He  sent  a  message  to  the  inhabitants  of 
Canada,  which  was  printed  in  handbills  before 
Arnold  left  Cambridge,  with  the  view  of  hav 
ing  the  copies  distributed  as  soon  as  he  should 
arrive  in  Canada.  He  says  in  part: 

The  Colonies,  confiding  in  the  justness  of  their 
cause,  and  the  purity  of  their  intentions,  have  re 
luctantly  appealed  to  that  Being  in  whose  hands  are 
all  human  events.  He  has  hitherto  smiled  upon 
their  virtuous  efforts,  the  hand  of  tyranny  has  been 
arrested  in  its  ravages,  and  the  British  arms,  which 
have  shone  with  so  much  splendor  in  every  part  of 
the  globe,  are  now  tarnished  with  disgrace  and  dis 
appointment.84 

PUNISHES  GAMBLING 
October  2,  1775,  he  issued  the  following  order: 

Any  officer,  non-commissioned  officer,  or  soldier 
who  shall  hereafter  be  detected  playing  at  toss-up, 
pitch,  and  hustle,  or  any  other  games  of  chance,  in 
or  near  the  camp  or  village  bordering  on  the  en 
campments,  shall  without  delay  be  confined  and 
punished  for  disobedience  of  orders.  The  General 
does  not  mean  by  the  above  to  discourage  sports  of 
exercise  or  recreation,  he  only  means  to  discounte 
nance  and  punish  gaming.85 

Y      HOSPITALITY  TO  THE  POOR 
On  Sunday,  the  26th  of  November,  1775,  the 

1775]  72  [Age  43 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

General  writes  from  Cambridge  to  Lund  Wash 
ington,  Mount  Vernon,  superintendent  of  his 
plantations  and  business  agent  during  the  Revo 
lution,  giving  instructions  thus: 

Let  the  hospitality  of  the  house,  with  respect  to 
the  poor,  be  kept  up.  Let  no  one  go  hungry  away. 
If  any  of  this  kind  of  people  should  be  in  want  of  corn, 
supply  their  necessities,  provided  it  does  not  en 
courage  them  in  idleness,  and  I  have  no  objection  to 
your  giving  my  money  in  charity  to  the  amount  of 
forty  or  fifty  pounds  a  year  when  you  think  it  well 
bestowed.  What  I  mean  by  having  no  objection  is 
that  it  is  my  desire  that  it  should  be  done.  You  are 
to  consider  that  neither  myself  nor  wife  is  now  in 
the  way  to  do  these  good  offices.  In  all  other  re 
spects  I  recommend  it  to  you,  and  have  no  doubt  of 
your  observing  the  greatest  economy  and  frugality; 
as  I  suppose  you  know  that  I  do  not  get  a  farthing 
for  my  services  here,  more  than  my  expenses.  It 
becomes  necessary,  therefore,  for  me  to  be  saving  at 
home.86 

And  while  speaking  on  this  subject,  it  will 
not  be  amiss  to  add,  that  one  of  the  General's 
managers,  Mr.  Peake,  a  respectable  man, 
after  the  war,  once  said  in  reference  to  this 
subject:  > 

"I  had  orders  from  General  Washington  to 
fill  a  corn -house  every  year  for  the  sole  use  of 
the  poor  in  my  neighborhood,  to  whom  it  was 
Age  43]  73  [1775 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

a  most  seasonable  and  precious  relief,  saving 
numbers  of  poor  women  and  children  from  ex 
treme  want,  and  blessing  with  plenty. 

"And  when,  on  one  occasion,  much  distress 
prevailed  in  the  country  round,  on  account  of 
the  failure  of  the  harvest,  he  purchased  several 
bushels  of  corn  at  a  high  price  to  be  given  away 
to  those  who  were  most  in  want,  and  most 
deserving  of  relief/'87 

His  benevolence  "was  a  quiet  and  unfailing 
stream,  which  never  brawled  its  way  in  the  noon 
day  sun,  but  flowed  silently  and  unseen,  and 
only  betrayed  its  course  by  the  green  fertility 
of  its  margin."88 

ATTENDS  CHURCH 

On  Sunday,  December  3,  1775,  he  attended 
service  at  the  Rev.  Dr.  Appleton's  Church;  dis 
course  by  Abiel  Leonard,  chaplain  to  General 
Putnam's  command.  This  was  the  "Old  Congre 
gational  Church,"  which  Washington  attended 
while  in  Cambridge,  the  minister  being  the 
venerable  Nathaniel  Appleton.89 

The  first  Sunday  after  Mrs.  Washington  ar 
rived  at  headquarters,  Christ  Church  (Episco 
pal)  being  used  for  military  purposes,  they 
attended  the  Congregational  church,  as  noted 
in  Dorothy  Dudley's  diary,  as  follows: 

"December  18th — Mrs.  Washington  was  at 

1775]  74  [Age  43 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

church  yesterday  with  the  General.  .  .  .  Dr. 
Appleton  prayed  most  earnestly  for  our  country 
and  its  defenders,  alluding  pointedly  and  affec 
tionately  to  the  chief  officer  of  the  army.  .  .  . 
Mrs.  Washington  has  expressed  a  wish  that 
Christ  Church  may  be  put  in  readiness  for 
services,  and  orders  have  gone  forth  to  that 
effect."90 

Two  weeks  later  service  was  held  in  Christ 
Church  as  shown  by  the  following  interesting 
note  in  the  diary  of  Dorothy  Dudley: 

"January  1,  1776. — Yesterday  service  was 
held  in  Christ  Church.  I  was  invited  to  be 
present.  Colonel  William  Palfrey,  at  request 
of  Mrs.  Washington,  read  the  service  and  made  a 
prayer  of  a  form  different  from  that  commonly 
used  for  the  King.  .  .  .  General  and  Mrs.  Wash 
ington,  Mrs.  Gates,  Mrs.  Morgan,  Mrs.  Mifflin, 
Mrs.  Curtis,  and  many  others,  including  officers, 
were  present.  The  General  is  loyal  to  his 
church  as  to  his  country,  though  he  had  identi 
fied  himself  with  our  parish  [Congregational] 
during  his  residence  among  us.  ...  The  Gen 
eral's  majestic  figure  bent  reverently  in  prayer 
as  with  devout  earnestness  he  entered  into  the 
service."91 

FINGER  OF  PROVIDENCE 
He  writes  to  Joseph  Reed  on  Sunday,  January 

Age  44]  75  [1776 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

14,  1776,  concerning  difficulties  of  the  army- 
lack  of  food,  clothing,  guns,  etc.,  as  follows : 

The  reflection  on  my  situation,  and  that  of  this 
army,  produce  many  an  unhappy  hour  when  all 
around  me  are  wrapped  in  sleep.  Few  people  know 
the  predicament  we  are  in,  on  a  thousand  accounts; 
fewer  still  will  believe,  if  any  disaster  happens  to 
these  lines,  from  what  cause  it  flows.  I  have  often 
thought  how  much  happier  I  should  have  been,  if, 
instead  of  accepting  the  command  under  such  cir 
cumstances,  I  had  taken  my  musket  on  my  shoulder 
and  entered  the  ranks,  or,  if  I  could  have  justified 
the  measure  to  posterity  and  my  own  conscience, 
have  retired  to  the  back  country  and  lived  in  a  wig 
wam.  If  I  shall  be  able  to  rise  superior  to  these  and 
many  other  difficulties  which  might  be  enumerated, 
I  shall  most  religiously  believe  that  the  finger  of 
Providence  is  in  it,  to  blind  the  eyes  of  our  enemies; 
for  surely  if  we  get  well  through  this  month,  it  must 
be  for  want  of  their  knowing  the  disadvantages  we 
labor  under.92 

GAMBLING  AGAIN  CONDEMNED 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1776,  the  following 
orders  were  issued: 

All  officers,  non-commissioned  officers,  and  soldiers 
are  positively  forbid  playing  at  cards  and  other 
games  of  chance.  At  this  time  of  public  distress 
men  may  find  enough  to  do  in  the  service  of  their 
1776]  76  [Age  44 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

God  and  their  country,  without  abandoning  them 
selves  to  vice  and  immorality.93 

FAST  DAY 

March  6,  1776,  General  Washington  issued  at 
Cambridge  the  following  order: 

Thursday,  the  7th  instant,  being  set  apart  by  the 
honorable  the  Legislature  of  this  Province  as  a  day 
of  fasting,  prayer,  and  humiliation,  "to  implore  the 
Lord  and  Giver  of  all  victory  to  pardon  our  manifold 
sins  and  wickedness,  and  that  it  would  please  Him  to 
bless  the  Continental  arms  with  His  divine  favor  and 
protection,"  all  officers  and  soldiers  are  strictly  en 
joined  to  pay  all  due  reverence  and  attention  on  that 
day  to  the  sacred  duties  to  the  Lord  of  hosts  for  His 
mercies  already  received,  and  for  those  blessings 
which  our  holiness  and  uprightness  of  life  can  alone 
encourage  us  to  hope  through  His  mercy  to  obtain.94 

SPECIAL  PROVIDENCE 

In  his  answer  to  an  address  from  the  General 
Assembly  of  Massachusetts,  following  evacua 
tion  of  Boston  by  the  British,  March  17,  1776, 
he  closed : 

And  it  being  effected  without  the  blood  of  our 
soldiers  and  fellow-citizens  must  be  ascribed  to  the 
interposition  of  that  Providence  which  has  mani 
festly  appeared  in  our  behalf  through  the  whole  of 
this  important  struggle,  as  well  as  to  the  measures 
pursued  for  bringing  about  the  happy  event. 
Age  44]  77  [1776 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

May  that  Being  who  is  powerful  to  save,  and  in 
whose  hands  is  the  fate  of  nations,  look  down  with 
an  eye  of  tender  pity  and  compassion  upon  the  whole 
of  the  United  Colonies;  may  He  continue  to  smile 
upon  their  counsels  and  arms,  and  crown  them  with 
success,  whilst  employed  in  the  cause  of  virtue  and 
mankind.  May  this  distressed  colony  and  its  capi 
tal,  and  every  part  of  this  wide  extended  continent, 
through  His  divine  favor,  be  restored  to  more  than 
their  former  lustre  and  once  happy  state,  and  have 
peace,  liberty,  and  safety  secured  upon  a  solid,  per 
manent,  and  lasting  foundation.95 

ATTENDS  THANKSGIVING  SERVICE 
On  the  same  day,  a  few  hours  after  the  de 
parture  of  the  British,  Washington  and  his 
officers  attended  thanksgiving  service,  and  lis 
tened  to  the  Rev.  Dr.  Abiel  Leonard  preach 
from  Exodus  14.  25:  "And  he  took  off  their 
chariot  wheels,  that  they  drave  them  heavily;  so 
that  the  Egyptians  said,  Let  us  flee  from  the  face 
of  Israel;  for  the  Lord  fighteth  for  them  against 
the  Egyptians."96 

ASKS  FOR  THANKSGIVING  SERMON 
In  his  journal  for  March  23,  1776,  Dr.  James 
Thacher  says  that  when  Washington  entered 
Boston  after  the  evacuation  by  the  British,  "He 
[Washington]  requested  Reverend  Doctor  [An 
drew]  Eliot,  at  the  renewal  of  his  customary 

1776]  78  [Age  44 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

Thursday  lecture,  to  preach  a  thanksgiving  ser 
mon,  adapted  to  the  joyful  occasion.  Accord 
ingly,  on  the  28th,  this  pious  divine  preached  an 
appropriate  discourse."97 

THE  THANKSGIVING  SERVICE 

A  newspaper  at  the  time  gave  the  following 
account  of  the  service: 

Thursday  [March  28]  the  Lecture,  which  was  es 
tablished,  and  has  been  observed  from  the  first  settle 
ment  of  Boston,  without  interruption,  until  within 
these  few  months  past,  was  opened  by  the  Reverend 
Doctor  Eliot.  His  Excellency  General  Washington, 
the  other  General  Officers  and  their  suites,  having 
been  previously  invited,  met  in  the  Council  Chamber, 
from  whence,  preceded  by  the  Sheriff  with  his  Wand, 
attended  by  the  members  of  the  Council,  who  had 
had  the  smallpox,  the  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  the  Selectmen,  the  Clergy,  and 
many  other  Gentlemen,  they  repaired  to  the  old 
Brick  Meeting  House,  where  an  excellent  and  well 
adapted  discourse  was  delivered  from  those  words  in 
the  XXXIII  chapter  of  Isaiah,  and  20th  verse.  After 
divine  service  was  ended  his  Excellency,  attended 
and  accompanied  as  before,  returned  to  the  Council 
Chamber,  from  whence  they  proceeded  to  the  Bunch 
of  Grapes  tavern,  where  an  elegant  dinner  was 
provided  at  the  public  expense.  .  .  .  Joy  and  grati 
tude  sat  on  every  countenance,  and  smiled  in  every 
eye.98 
Age  44]  79  [1776 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

INTERPOSITION  OF  PROVIDENCE 
In  a  letter  to  his  brother,  John  Augustine 
Washington,  written  from  Cambridge,  Massa 
chusetts,  March  31,  1776,  speaking  of  the  evacu 
ation  of  Boston,  he  says: 

Upon  their  discovery  of  the  works  next  morning, 
great  preparations  were  made  for  attacking  them; 
but  not  being  ready  before  the  afternoon,  and  the 
weather  getting  very  tempestuous,  much  blood  was 
saved,  and  a  very  important  blow,  to  one  side  or  the 
other,  was  prevented.  That  this  most  remarkable 
interposition  of  Providence  is  for  some  wise  purpose, 
I  have  not  a  doubt." 

No  KIND  OF  AMUSEMENTS 
Washington  was  very  strict  in  his  deportment 
in  the  army.  Concerning  horse-racing,  gam 
bling,  etc.,  in  a  letter  to  the  President  of  Congress, 
dated  New  York,  April,  1776,  he  thus  writes: 
"I  give  in  to  no  kind  of  amusements  myself  and 
consequently  those  about  me  [alluding  to  his 
aids]  can  have  none."100 

PRAYERS  FOR  KING  TO  BE  OMITTED 
Soon  after  Washington  assumed  command  in 
New  York  he  sent  word  to  Dr.  Inglis,  then  as 
sistant  rector  of  the  Trinity  Church  in  that  city, 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  have  the  prayers  for 
the  king  and  the  royal  family  omitted.  The 

1776]  go  [Age  44 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

American  general  was  sincerely  desirous  to  be 
present  at  the  services  of  his  own  church;  but  a 
person  of  even  less  ingrained  veracity  than  Gen 
eral  Washington  would  have  scrupled  to  join  in 
supplications  for  the  victory  of  a  monarch 
against  whom  he  had  set  in  line  of  battle  twenty 
thousand  soldiers,  carrying  pouches  filled  with 
bullets  which  had  been  cast  from  the  metal  of 
his  Majesty's  statue.101 

OBSERVANCE  OF  A  FAST 
May  15,  1776,  he  issued  the  following  order: 

The  Continental  Congress  having  ordered  Friday 
the  17th  instant  to  be  observed  as  a  day  of  fasting, 
humiliation,  and  prayer,  humbly  to  supplicate  the 
mercy  of  Almighty  God,  that  it  would  please  Him  to 
pardon  all  our  manifold  sins  and  transgressions,  and 
to  prosper  the  arms  of  the  United  Colonies,  and 
finally  establish  the  peace  and  freedom  of  America 
upon  a  solid  and  lasting  foundation;  the  General  com 
mands  all  officers  and  soldiers  to  pay  strict  obedience 
to  the  orders  of  the  Continental  Congress;  that,  by 
their  unfeigned  and  pious  observance  of  their  re 
ligious  duties,  they  may  incline  the  Lord  and  Giver 
of  victory  to  prosper  our  arms.102 

BELIEVES  CAUSE  JUST 

In  a  letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington, 
written  from  Philadelphia,  May  31,  1776,  speak 
ing  of  the  army  being  unprepared  for  the  bloody 

Age  44]  81  [1776 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

campaign  which  was  evidently  before  it,  he  says, 
"However,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that,  if  our  cause  is 
just,  as  I  do  most  religiously  believe  it  to  be, 
the  same  Providence,  which  has  in  many  in 
stances  appeared  for  us,  will  still  go  on  to  afford 
its  aid."103 

RELIES  UPON  SUPREME  BEING 
In  view  of  an  expected  attack  from  the  com 
bined  forces  of  the  enemy,  the  following  order 
was  issued,  July  2,  1776: 

The  time  is  now  near  at  hand  which  must  prob 
ably  determine  whether  Americans  are  to  be  freemen 
or  slaves;  whether  they  are  to  have  any  property 
they  can  call  their  own;  whether  their  houses  and 
farms  are  to  be  pillaged  and  destroyed,  and  they 
consigned  to  a  state  of  wretchedness,  from  which  no 
human  efforts  will  probably  deliver  them.  The  fate 
of  unborn  millions  will  now  depend,  under  God,  on 
the  courage  and  conduct  of  this  army.  Our  cruel 
and  unrelenting  enemy  leaves  us  no  choice  but  a 
brave  resistance  or  the  most  abject  submission.  This 
is  all  that  we  can  expect.  We  have,  therefore,  to 
resolve  to  conquer  or  die.  Our  own  country's  honor 
calls  upon  us  for  a  vigorous  and  manly  exertion,  and 
if  we  now  shamefully  fail,  we  shall  become  infamous 
to  the  whole  world.  Let  us  rely  upon  the  goodness  . 
of  the  cause,  and  the  aid  of  the  Supreme  Being,  in  T 
whose  hands  victory  is,  to  animate  and  encourage  us 
to  great  and  noble  actions,  etc.104 
1776]  82  [Age  44 


TRUSTS  IN  GOD 

"A  CHRISTIAN  SOLDIER" 
On  July  9,  1776,  General  Washington  issued 
the  following  order: 

The  honorable  Continental  Congress  having  been 
pleased  to  allow  a  chaplain  to  each  regiment,  with  the 
pay  of  thirty-three  dollars  and  one-third  per  month, 
the  colonels  or  commanding  officers  of  each  regiment 
are  directed  to  procure  chaplains  accordingly,  per 
sons  of  good  characters  and  exemplary  lives,  and  to  L^ 
see  that  all  inferior  officers  and  soldiers  pay  them  a 
suitable  respect.  The  blessing  and  protection  of 
Heaven  are  at  all  times  necessary,  but  especially  so 
in  times  of  public  distress  and  danger.  The  General 
hopes  and  trusts,  that  every  officer  and  man  will  en 
deavor  so  to  live  and  act  as  becomes  a  Christian  sol 
dier,  defending  the  dearest  rights  and  liberties  of  his 
country.105 

PROFANITY  CONDEMNED 
August  3,  1776,  he  issued  the  following  order: 

That  the  troops  may  have  an  opportunity  of 
attending  public  worship,  as  well  as  to  take  some  rest 
after  the  great  fatigue  they  have  gone  through,  the 
General  in  future  excuses  them  from  fatigue  duty  on 
Sundays,  except  at  shipyards,  or  on  special  occasions, 
until  further  orders.  The  General  is  sorry  to  be  in 
formed  that  the  foolish  and  wicked  practice  of  pro 
fane  cursing  and  swearing,  a  vice  heretofore  little 
known  in  an  American  Army,  is  growing  into  fashion; 
he  hopes  the  officers  will  by  example  as  well  as  in- 

Age  44]  gg  [1776 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

fluence,  endeavor  to  check  it;  and  that  both  they  and 
the  men  will  reflect  that  we  can  have  little  hope  of 
the  blessing  of  Heaven  on  our  arms  if  we  insult  it  by 
our  impiety  and  folly;  added  to  this,  it  is  a  vice  so 
mean  and  low,  without  any  temptation,  that  every 
man  of  sense  and  character  detests  and  despises  it.106 

PRAYER  BEFORE  BATTLE 
Just  before  the  engagement  on  the  battlefield 
of  Chatterton  Hill,  October  28,  1776,  it  is  said 
that  in  the  home  where  he  was  entertained,  he 
wrestled  in  prayer  with  the  God  of  battles. 
"His  loyal  heart,  stung  with  the  epithet  'rebel' 
hurled  at  patriots,  was,  at  the  family  altar, 
poured  out  into  the  language  of  the  very  'Bible 
hero  without  a  flaw'  he  is  said  to  resemble.  His 
words  were  those  of  the  22d  verse  of  chapter  22 
of  the  book  of  Joshua:  'The  Lord,  God  of  gods, 
he  knoweth,  and  Israel  he  shall  know;  if  it  be  in 
rebellion,  or  if  in  transgression  against  the 
Lord.'"107 


1776]  84 


CHAPTER  VI 

WASHINGTON  ATTENDS  COMMUNION 
SERVICE 

(1)    ARMY  ENCAMPED  AT  MORRISTOWN, 
NEW  JERSEY 

"During  his  sojourn  at  Morristown,  New 
Jersey,  in  the  winter  of  1777,  Washington  had 
been  severely  tried.  A  scourge  of  smallpox,  the 
prevalence  of  other  fatal  diseases,  the  privations 
and  sufferings  of  the  soldiers,  frequent  desertions 
and  Washington  himself  seriously  ill  with  quinsy 
sore  throat,  when  his  death  seemed  imminent — - 
these  were  the  causes  of  a  depression  of  spirit  on 
the  part  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  which  only 
appeal  (as  he  came  at  last  to  realize)  to  a  higher 
than  merely  human  power  could  adequately 
relieve.  To  that  higher  power,  Washington, 
like  many  before  and  since,  turned  in  his  ex 
tremity  for  support  and  consolation. 

"It  was,  presumably,  while  experiencing  the 
depression  of  spirit  consequent  upon  the  sug 
gested  multiplicity  of  difficulties  confronting 
him,  that  the  Commander-in-chief,  one  morning, 
after  his  accustomed  daily  inspection  of  camp  at 
Lowantica  Valley  (now  Spring  Valley),  called 

Age  45]  85  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

upon  Tarson  Johnes'  at  his  home.  These  two 
men  were  no  strangers  to  each  other;  neither  was 
this  the  initial  visit  to  the  Presbyterian  par 
sonage  of  the  Commander  of  the  American 
army,  encamped  at  the  country  seat  of  Morris. 
Association  in  the  work  of  devising  means  and 
methods  for  the  control  of  the  smallpox  and 
other  diseases  in  the  army  and  in  the  village; 
occasional,  and  perhaps  frequent,  attendance 
upon  religious  services  conducted  on  Sunday  by 
the  beloved  pastor  of  the  only  Presbyterian 
church  then  in  Morristown;  and  association, 
also,  in  the  important  deliberations  at  the 
Presbyterian  parsonage  of  the  New  Jersey 
Council  of  Safety,  in  which  both  Washington 
and  Dr.  Johnes  had  participated,  had  doubtless 
resulted  in  a  mutual  acquaintance  of  these  two 
men,  which  had  ripened  into  a  friendship  of  no 
ordinary  character . " 108 

(2)     TESTIMONY  OF  REVEREND  SAMUEL  H. 
COXE,  D.D. 

It  was  during  this  time  that  Washington  par 
took  of  the  communion.  The  story  was  first 
published  in  Dr.  Hosack's  Life  of  DeWitt  Clin 
ton  in  1829,  and  related  in  the  words  of  the  Rev. 
Samuel  H.  Coxe,  D.D.  (pastor  of  Laight  Street 
Presbyterian  Church,  New  York  city),  and 
father  of  the  late  Bishop  Coxe,  of  the  Epis- 

1777]  86  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

copal  Church.  Dr.  Coxe  received  the  account 
from  Dr.  Hillyer,  who  had  it  directly  from  Dr. 
Timothy  Johnes: 

"It  was  on  a  morning  of  a  week  previous  to  the 
semiannual  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  in 
the  Presbyterian  church,  that  Washington  drove 
up  to  the  home  of  Dr.  Johnes.  He  left  his  hand 
some  bay  horse  in  charge  of  his  mounted  orderly, 
and  with  stately  but  heavy  tread,  ascended  the 
steps  of  the  front  veranda  and  lifted  the  old- 
fashioned  brass  knocker  on  the  door,  whose 
short,  distinct  rap  would  gain  him  admis 
sion/'109 

"I  have  the  following  anecdote,"  says  Dr. 
Coxe,  "from  unquestionable  authority.  It  has 
never,  I  think,  been  given  to  the  public;  but  I 
received  it  from  a  venerable  clergyman,  who  had 
it  from  the  lips  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Jones  [Johnes] 
himself.  To  all  Christians,  and  to  all  Ameri 
cans,  it  cannot  fail  to  be  acceptable: 

"While  the  American  army,  under  the  com 
mand  of  Washington,  lay  encamped  at  Morris- 
town,  New  Jersey  [winter  of  1776-7],  it  occurred 
that  the  service  of  the  communion  [then  ob 
served  semiannually  only]  was  to  be  adminis 
tered  in  the  Presbyterian  church  of  that  village. 
In  a  morning  of  the  previous  week  the  General, 
after  his  accustomed  inspection  of  the  camp, 

Age  45]  87 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

visited  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Doctor  Jones 
[Johnes],  then  pastor  of  the  church,  and,  after 
the  usual  preliminaries,  thus  accosted  him: 

"  'Doctor,  I  understand  that  the  Lord's  Sup 
per  is  to  be  celebrated  with  you  next  Sunday. 
I  would  learn  if  it  accords  with  the  canon  of 
your  church  to  admit  communicants  of  another 
denomination  ? ' 

"The  Doctor  rejoined,  'Most  certainly;  ours 
is  not  the  Presbyterian  table,  General,  but  the 
Lord's  table;  and  we  hence  give  the  Lord's  invi 
tation  to  all  his  followers,  of  whatever  name.' 

"The  General  replied,  'I  am  glad  of  it;  that 
is  as  it  ought  to  be;  but,  as  I  was  not  quite  sure 
of  the  fact,  I  thought  I  would  ascertain  it  from 
yourself,  as  I  propose  to  join  with  you  on  that 
occasion.  Though  a  member  of  the  Church  of 
England,  I  have  no  exclusive  partialities.' 

"The  Doctor  reassured  him  of  a  cordial  wel 
come,  and  the  General  was  found  seated  with  the 
communicants  the  next  Sabbath."110 

This  incident  in  the  life  of  Washington  shows 
his  own  impressions  that  he  was  a  religious  man, 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  household  of 
faith.  The  circumstance  that  makes  it  remark 
able  is,  that  it  was  the  only  time  during  the  Revo 
lutionary  War  that  he  is  certainly  known  to  have 
celebrated  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

1777]  88 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

(3)  REGULAR  ATTENDANT  AT  CHURCH 
"The  pulpit  of  the  Morristown  Presbyterian 
Church  was  occupied  by  Doctor  Timothy  Johnes, 
whose  contemporaries  describe  him  as  a  mild 
but  eminently  persuasive  preacher,  and  as  a 
most  admirable  pastor.  Washington  was  a  con 
stant  attendant  on  his  preaching,  both  winters 
he  spent  in  Morristown."111 

"That  Washington  and  other  American  offi 
cers  and  soldiers  occasionally  attended  open-air 
services,  held  in  the  orchard  in  the  rear  of  the 
Presbyterian  parsonage,  is  now  too  well  authen 
ticated  to  question."112 

(4)  SACRAMENT  UNDER  AN  APPLE  TREE 
The  Reverend  E.  C.  M'Guire,  an  Episcopal 
clergyman  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  in  1835, 
obtained  some  valuable  information,  which  is 
given  herewith.  Mr.  M'Guire  married  Judith, 
the  daughter  of  Robert  Lewis,  Washington's 
nephew  and  agent,  and  for  a  time  his  private 
secretary,  and  had  unusually  good  sources  of 
information.  It  seems  that  the  communion  was 
held  under  an  apple  tree,  and  that  Washington 
wrote  the  pastor  a  note  instead  of  calling  on  him 
personally.  Dr.  M'Guire's  statement  follows: 
"That  he  partook  of  the  communion  at  Mor 
ristown,  New  Jersey,  during  the  encampment  of 
the  army  there,  in  1780  [1777],  has  long  been  an 

Age  45]  89 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

accredited  tradition.  Some  few,  indeed,  have 
been  doubtful,  but  it  would  seem  without  any 
good  ground.  That  the  account  as  generally 
stated,  is  in  the  main  correct,  let  the  following 
communications  attest.  They  were  written  in 
answer  to  letters  requesting  information  on  the 
point  to  which  they  refer.  The  high  respecta 
bility  of  the  writers  will  gain  for  their  testimony 
the  utmost  confidence  of  those  who  know 
them."113 

(5)     TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  ASA  A.  COULTON 

MORRISTOWN,  March  26,  1836. 
REV.  AND  DEAR  SIR, 

Yours  was  duly  received,  and  ought  perhaps  to 
have  been  sooner  answered;  but  I  have  delayed  a 
little  hoping  to  make  my  statements  the  stronger  by 
additional  testimony. 

I  do  not  learn  that  any  living  witness  to  the  fact 
in  question  can  be  found  in  this  vicinity,  though  it 
is  believed  there  are  such.  I  have  called  on  Mr. 
Wm.  Johnes,  a  son  of  Reverend  Doctor  Johnes,  to 
whom  you  refer.  By  reason  of  his  great  age,  he 
can  say  nothing  upon  the  subject,  but  Mrs.  Johnes, 
who  is  much  younger,  gives  it  as  an  unquestioned 
family  tradition,  that  General  Washington  wrote  the 
note  in  question,  and  partook  of  the  sacrament  as 
it  has  been  commonly  reported.  Mrs.  Johnes  refers 
directly  to  her  father-in-law,  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Johnes.  The  family  are  still  in  possession  of  the 
orchard,  and  point  out  the  very  tree  under  which  the 
1777]  90  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

sacrament  was  then  administered,  the  church  being 
at  that  time  occupied  as  a  hospital.  The  fact  in 
question  is  regarded  as  certain  by  the  older  residents 
of  the  place,  beyond  all  room  for  doubt. 

It  is  thought  by  some,  that  the  Reverend  Doctor 
Richards,  of  Auburn  Theological  Seminary,  New 
York,  is  in  possession  of  the  very  note,  written  by 
General  Washington  to  Doctor  Johnes,  relative  to  his 
admission  to  the  communion. 

Respectfully,  Sir,  I  am  truly  yours, 

Asa  S.  CouLTON.114 

(6)  TESTIMONY  OF  REV.  JAMES  RICHARDS,  D.D. 
The  following  letter  is  from  Dr.  Richards,  the 
gentleman  referred  to  in  the  foregoing  letter: 

AUBURN,  14th  of  April,  1836. 

DEAR  SIR, 

Yours  of  the  5th  has  just  been  received.  I  can 
only  say  in  reply,  that  I  never  saw  the  note  to  which 
you  allude, — but  have  no  doubt  that  such  a  note  was 
addressed  by  Washington  to  Doctor  Johnes,  of 
Morristown,  on  the  occasion  to  which  you  refer.  I 
became  a  resident  in  that  town  in  the  summer  of 
1794,  while  Doctor  Johnes  was  still  living — and  was 
afterwards  the  regular  pastor  of  that  congregation 
for  about  fourteen  years.  The  report  that  Wash 
ington  did  actually  receive  the  communion  from  the 
hands  of  Doctor  Johnes,  was  universally  current 
during  that  period,  and  so  far  as  I  know,  never  con 
tradicted.  I  have  often  heard  it  from  the  members 
of  Doctor  Johnes'  family,  while  they  added  that  a 
Age  45]  91  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

note  was  addressed  by  Washington  to  their  father, 
requesting  the  privilege,  and  stating  that  though  con 
nected  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  he  felt  a  freedom 
and  desire  to  commune  with  those  of  another  name, 
if  acceptable  to  them.  Very  often,  too,  have  I 
heard  this  circumstance  spoken  of  as  evidence  of 
that  great  man's  liberality,  as  well  as  piety. 

There  were  hundreds  at  Morristown  during  the 
time  of  which  I  speak,  who  might,  if  the  fact  of  Wash 
ington's  receiving  the  communion  there  be  true, 
have  witnessed  that  fact — and  who  would  not  be 
slow  to  contradict  it,  on  the  supposition  that  it  had 
not  been  witnessed  by  them  or  their  friends.  It  is 
barely  possible,  that  such  a  report  might  be  put  in 
circulation  through  error  or  mistake,  and  afterwards 
gain  credit  by  time;  but  in  my  judgment  in  no  degree 
probable,  when  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case  are 
duly  considered.  The  family  of  Doctor  Johnes,  sons 
and  daughters,  were  of  mature  age,  and  some  of  them 
active  members  of  society,  when  this  note  is  said  to 
have  been  written,  and  the  fact  to  which  it  related 
took  place.  It  is  scarcely  possible  that  they  should 
have  been  deceived ;  and  their  characters  are  too  well 
known  to  suppose  them  willing  to  deceive  others. 
Very  respectfully  yours, 

JAMES  RicHARDs.116 

(7)     THE  LORD'S  SUPPER 
"It  is  the  Sabbath.     The  congregation  are  as 
sembled  in  an  orchard,  in  a  natural  basin  which 
Providence  had  made  for  them,  to  pay  their 

1777]  92  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

homage  to  the  Most  High,  and  to  commemorate 
the  love  of  the  Redeemer,  even  in  the  winter. 
Among  their  number  is  the  commander-in-chief 
of  the  American  army.  With  a  willing  and  de 
vout  spirit  he  unites  with  the  people  of  God  in 
the  ordinances  of  religion.  After  a  solemn  ser 
mon  from  a  venerable  minister,  a  hymn  is  sung, 
and  the  invitation  given  to  the  members  of 
sister  churches  to  unite  in  the  celebration  of  the 
Lord's  Supper.  A  well-known  military  form 
rises  in  response  to  the  invitation.  With  solemn 
dignity  and  Christian  meekness  he  takes  his 
seat  with  Christ's  people  and  partakes  of  the 
bread  and  wine.  It  is  Washington  at  the  com 
munion  table."116 

(8)  TESTIMONY  OF  REV.  O.  L.  KIRTLAND 
The  following  letter  of  the  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirt- 
land,  who  came  to  Morristown  in  1837,  pastor 
of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  at  Morris- 
town,  who  married  into  the  family  of  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Johnes,  was  written  to  the  editor  of  the 
Presbyterian  Magazine  in  1851. 

REV.  AND  DEAR  BROTHER: 

The  father  of  Mrs.  Kirtland  was  the  son  of  the 
Reverend  Doctor  Timothy  Johnes — lived  with  him, 
and  took  care  of  him  in  his  old  age,  and  till  his  death 
— remained  in  the  homestead  of  his  father,  and  died 
there  in  his  83rd  year,  November,  1836.  Mrs.  Kirt- 

Age  45]  93  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

land  was  born  in  the  same  house,  and  never  had  her 
home  elsewhere  till  a  short  time  since.  She  recollects 
very  distinctly  that  she  was  accustomed  to  hear  her 
father  speak  of  the  fact  that  the  religious  services  of 
the  congregation  were  conducted  in  the  orchard,  in  the 
rear  of  the  house,  whilst  Washington  was  here  during 
the  Revolutionary  War.  This  was  one  of  the  famil 
iar  facts  often  repeated  during  her  early  years.  She 
has  no  doubt  that  a  part  of  the  familiar  subject  of  the 
conversation  of  her  father  with  the  family,  and  with 
visitors,  was,  that  the  communion  which  General 
Washington  attended  was  held  in  the  orchard. 

In  the  orchard  there  is  a  natural  basin  several  feet 
deep,  and  a  few  rods  in  diameter.  The  basin  was 
formerly  considerably  deeper  than  at  present,  having 
been  partly  filled  in  the  process  of  tilling  ever  since 
the  Revolution.  Mrs.  Kirtland  recollects  that  her 
father  used  to  say,  that  when  the  people  assembled 
for  worship,  they  occupied  the  bottom  of  that  basin 
for  their  place  of  meeting.  The  minister  stood  on 
one  side  of  the  basin,  so  as  to  be  elevated  above  his 
congregation.  The  whole  field  inclines  towards  the 
morning  and  mid-day  sun.  The  rising  grounds  in 
the  rear  would,  to  a  great  extent,  shield  the  congre 
gation  from  the  usuaj  winds  of  winter.  Indeed,  the 
basin  was  formerly  so  deep,  that  the  wind  from  any 
direction  would  mainly  pass  over  them. 

A  brother  of  Mrs.  Kirtland,  several  years  older 
than  herself,  and  other  members  of  the  family,  tell 
me  that  their  recollections  are  distinct,  and  in  har 
mony  with  hers,  touching  the  meetings  in  the  orchard, 
1777]  94  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

the  communion,  and  the  presence  of  Washington 
there. 

John  B.  Johnes,  M.D.,  now  living  in  this  place 
[1851],  and  over  sixty  years  of  age,  grandson  of  the 
old  minister,  and  cousin  of  Mrs.  Kirtland,  recollects 
it  as  the  familiar  talk  of  his  father,  and  also  of  his 
uncle,  Mrs.  Kirtland's  father,  that  the  religious  ser 
vices,  whilst  Washington  was  here,  were  in  that 
orchard.117 

(9)  TESTIMONY  OF  CHARLOTTE  MORRELL 
BRACKETT 

Here  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  written  May 
19, 1902,  by  Charlotte  Morrell  Brackett,  a  great- 
great-granddaughter  of  Doctor  Johnes: 

"It  is  not  a  matter  of  tradition  only,  but  of 
pure  authentic  history — in  fact,  a  part  of  the 
history  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Morristown — as  it  was  the  first  pastor  of  the 
church,  the  Reverend  Doctor  Timothy  Johnes 
(my  great-great-grandfather),  who  administered 
the  rite  to  Washington.  ...  To  me  it  has  al 
ways  been  a  matter  of  family  history."118 

(10)  WHY  SERVICE  IN  OPEN  AIR 

"There  was  a  vast  amount  of  sickness  and 

suffering  in  the  army;  the  smallpox  prevailed 

fearfully,  the  Presbyterian  and  Baptist  churches, 

and  courthouse,  were  occupied  as  hospitals — 

Age  451  95  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  father  of  Mrs.  Kirtland  having,  the  latter 
part  of  the  time,  the  supervision  of  the  hospitals 
— so  that  there  was  no  place  for  the  meeting  of 
the  congregation,  except  in  the  open  air."119 

In  commemoration  of  this  event  the  spot  has 
been  marked  by  a  sundial,  placed  there  by  the 
Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution. 

REMAINED  STANDING  DURING  SERVICE 
The  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland,  in  his  letter  to  the 
editor  of  the  Presbyterian  Magazine,  also  men 
tions  the  following  interesting  incident:  "Mrs. 
Scofield,  wife  of  one  of  our  lawyers,  and  grand 
daughter  of  a  Mrs.  Ford,120  whose  name  has 
been  handed  down  to  us  fragrant  with  piety, 
informs  me  that  her  grandmother  used  to  tell 
her  about  attending  the  meetings  in  the  orchard. 
On  one  occasion,  when  the  old  lady  was  present, 
Washington  was  there  sitting  in  his  camp  chair, 
brought  in  for  the  occasion.  During  the  service, 
a  woman  came  into  the  congregation  with  a 
child  in  her  arms;  Washington  arose  from  his 
chair  and  gave  it  to  the  woman  with  the  child."121 
A  writer  in  1833  says  that  all  the  seats  were 
occupied,  and  Washington  remained  standing 
throughout  the  whole  service. 

WITHDRAWS  FROM  COMMUNION  SERVICE 
The  circumstance  of  his  withdrawing  him- 

1777]  96  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

self  from  the  communion  service  at  a  certain 
period  of  his  life  has  been  remarked  as  singular. 
This  may  be  admitted,  and  regretted,  both  on 
account  of  his  example,  and  the  value  of  his 
opinion  as  to  the  importance  and  practical  ten 
dency  of  this  rite.  It  does  not  follow,  however, 
that  he  was  an  unbeliever,  unless  the  same 
charge  is  proved  to  rest  against  the  numerous 
class  of  persons,  who  believe  themselves  to  be 
sincere  Christians,  but  who  have  scruples  in 
regard  to  the  ordinance  of  the  communion. 
Whatever  his  motives  may  have  been,  it  does 
not  appear  that  they  were  ever  explained.  Nor 
is  it  known,  or  to  be  presumed,  that  any  occasion 
offered.  It  is  probable  that,  after  he  took  com 
mand  of  the  army,  finding  his  thoughts  and 
attention  necessarily  engrossed  by  the  business 
that  devolved  upon  him,  in  which  frequently 
little  distinction  could  be  observed  between  the 
Sabbath  and  other  days,  he  may  have  believed 
it  improper  publicly  to  partake  of  an  ordinance 
which,  according  to  the  ideas  he  entertained  of 
it,  imposed  severe  restrictions  on  outward  con 
duct,  and  a  sacred  pledge  to  perform  duties 
impracticable  in  his  situation.  Such  an  im 
pression  would  be  natural  to  a  serious  mind; 
and,  although  it  might  be  an  erroneous  view 
of  the  nature  of  the  ordinance,  it  would  not 

have  the  less  weight  with  a  man  of  a  deli- 
Age  45]  97  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

cate    conscience    and    habitual    reverence    for 
religion.122 

Because  he  was  so  regular  and  devoted  in  his 
Christian  life  and  habits  of  devotion,  "it  was  the 
more  noticeable  that  he  ceased  to  be  a  regular 
communicant  as  long  as  the  war  lasted.  Wash 
ington  always  had  his  reasons  for  what  he  did,  or 
left  undone;  but  he  seldom  gave  them;  and  his 
motive  for  abstaining  from  the  sacrament  was 
not  a  subject  on  which  he  would  be  inclined  to 
break  his  ordinary  rule  of  reticence."123  His 
partaking  of  the  communion  at  Morris  town 
throws  some  light  upon  his  inward  convictions. 

VICE  AND  IMMORALITY  DISCOURAGED 
In  a  circular  to  the  brigadier-generals,  dated 
May  26,  1777,  are  the  following  instructions: 

Let  vice  and  immorality  of  every  kind  be  dis 
couraged  as  much  as  possible  in  your  brigade;  and, 
as  a  chaplain  is  allowed  to  each  regiment,  see  that 
the  men  regularly  attend  divine  worship.  Gaming 
of  every  kind  is  expressly  forbidden,  as  being  the 
foundation  of  evil,  and  the  cause  of  many  a  brave 
and  gallant  officer's  ruin.  Games  of  exercise  for 
amusement  may  not  only  be  permitted  but  en 
couraged.124 

MARK  OF  PROVIDENCE 

In  writing  to  General  Armstrong,  from  Mor- 
ristown,  New  Jersey,  July  4,  1777,  he  says: 

1777]  98  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

The  evacuation  of  Jersey  [by  the  British  troops]  at 
this  time  is  a  peculiar  mark  of  Providence,  as  the 
inhabitants  have  an  opportunity  of  securing  their 
harvests  of  hay  and  grain,  the  latter  of  which  would, 
in  all  probability,  have  undergone  the  same  fate  with 
many  farmhouses,  had  it  been  ripe  enough  to  take 
fire.  The  distress  of  many  of  the  inhabitants,  who 
were  plundered  not  only  of  their  effects  but  of  their 
provision  of  every  kind,  was  such,  that  I  sent  down 
several  wagon-loads  of  meat  and  flour  to  supply 
their  present  wants.125 

The  reader  will  observe  in  this  extract  striking 
proof  of  the  writer's  unqualified  faith  in  the  im 
mediate  and  particular  agency  of  the  Almighty 
in  the  affairs  of  men.  By  this  agency,  a  plun 
dering  army  had  been  forced  to  leave  the  agri 
cultural  districts  of  the  country  at  a  period  the 
most  critical  to  the  farmer.  It  was  near  the 
season  of  harvest  when  they  evacuated  the 
State,  but  the  grain  was  in  too  green  a  state  to 
be  burnt.  But  for  this  the  dependence  for 
bread  in  that  region  would  have  been  cut  off. 
This  interposition  was  indeed  "a  peculiar  mark 
of  Providence,"  and  the  reverential  notice  of  it 
a  commendable  instance  of  devout  feeling.126 

DIVINE  SERVICE  NOT  TO  BE  OMITTED 

October  7,  1777,  Washington  issued  the  fol 
lowing  order: 

Age  45]  99  [1777 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

The  situation  of  the  army  frequently  not  admitting 
of  the  regular  performance  of  divine  service  on  Sun 
days,  the  chaplains  of  the  army  are  forthwith  to  meet 
together  and  agree  on  some  method  of  performing  it 
at  other  times,  which  method  they  will  make  known 
to  the  Commander-in-chief.127 

SIGNAL  STROKE  OF  PROVIDENCE 
To  his  brother  John  A.  Washington,  he  writes, 
October  18, 1777,  announcing  the  capitulation  of 
Burgoyne's  army  at  Saratoga,  in  which  he  says, 
"I  most  devoutly  congratulate  my  country,  and 
every  well-wisher  to  the  cause,  on  this  signal 
stroke  of  Providence."128 

SYMPATHY  FOR  GENERAL  PUTNAM 
He  sent  a  letter  to  Major-General  Putnam 
Sunday,  October  19,  1777,  in  which  he  says: 

The  defeat  of  General  Burgoyne  is  a  most  important 
event,  and  such  as  must  afford  the  highest  satisfac 
tion  to  every  well-affected  American.  Should  Provi 
dence  be  pleased  to  crown  our  arms  in  the  course  of 
the  campaign  with  one  more  fortunate  stroke,  I 
think  we  shall  have  no  great  cause  for  anxiety  re 
specting  the  future  designs  of  Britain.  I  trust  all 
will  be  well  in  His  good  time.  .  . 

The  letter  closes  with  a  word  of  sympathy: 
I  am  exceedingly  sorry  for  the  death  of  Mrs.  Put- 
man,  and  sympathize  with  you  upon  the  occasion. 
Remembering  that  all  must  die,  and  that  she  had 
lived  to  an  honorable  age,  I  hope  you  will  bear  the 

1777]  100  [Age  45 


ATTENDS  COMMUNION  SERVICE 

misfortune  with  that  fortitude  and  complacency  of 
mind  that  become  a  man  and  a  Christian.129 

SUPERINTENDING  PROVIDENCE 
In  a  letter  to  Landon  Carter,  of  Sabine  Hall, 
Richmond  county,  Virginia,  October  27,  1777, 
he  says : 

I  have  this  instant  received  an  account  of  the 
prisoners  taken  by  the  northern  army  (including 
tories  in  arms  against  us)  in  the  course  of  the  cam 
paign.  This  singular  instance  of  Providence,  and 
of  our  good  fortune  under  it,  exhibits  a  striking 
proof  of  the  advantages  wH^result  from  unanimity 
and  a  spirited  conduct  in  the  militia/  ...  I  flatter 
myself  that  a  supe4rmtending  Prpvicfexicfe  is-  ordering 
everything  for  the  best,  and  that,  in  due  time,  all 
will  end  well.130 

THANKSGIVING  AND  PRAISE 
He  issued  the  following  order  on  December  17, 
1777,  near  Valley  Forge: 

To-morrow  being  the  day  set  apart  by  the  honor 
able  Congress  for  public  thanksgiving  and  praise, 
and  duty  calling  us  devoutly  to  express  our  grateful 
acknowledgments  to  God  for  the  manifold  blessings 
he  has  granted  us,  the  General  directs  that  the  army 
remain  in  its  present  quarters,  and  that  chaplains 
perform  divine  service  with  their  several  corps  and 
brigades;  and  earnestly  exhorts  all  officers  and  sol 
diers,  whose  absence  is  not  indispensably  necessary, 
to  attend  with  reverence  the  solemnities  of  the  day.131 
Age  45]  101  [1777 


CHAPTER  VII 
PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

(1)  REVEREND  MASON  L.  WEEMS'  ACCOUNT 
IN  the  winter  of  1777-78,  while  Washington, 
with  the  American  army,  was  encamped  at 
Valley  Forge,  amidst  all  the  perplexities  and 
troubles  and  sufferings,  the  Commander-in-chief 
sought  for  directioij  and  comfort  from  God. 
He  was  frequently  observed  to  visit  a  secluded 
grove.  One  day  a  To/y  Quaker  by  the  name  of 
Isaac  Potts  "had  occasion  to  pass  through  the 
woods  near  headquarters.  Treading  in  his  way 
along  the  venerable  grove,  suddenly  he  heard 
the  sound  of  a  human  voice,  which,  as  he  ad 
vanced,  increased  in  his  ear;  and  at  length 
became  like  the  voice  of  one  speaking  much  in 
earnest.  As  he  approached  the  spot  with  a 
cautious  step,  whom  should  he  behold,  in  a  dark 
natural  bower  of  ancient  oaks,  but  the  Com 
mander-in-chief  of  the  American  armies  on  his 
knees  at  prayer!  Motionless  with  surprise, 
Friend  Potts  continued  on  the  place  till  the 
general,  having  ended  his  devotions,  arose,  and, 
with  a  countenance  of  angelic  serenity,  retired 
to  headquarters. 

1778]  102  [Age  46 


WASHINGTON'S  PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

Friend  Potts  then  went  home,  and  on  entering 
his  parlor  called  out  to  his  wife,  "Sarah!  my 
dear  Sarah!  All's  well!  all's  well!  George  Wash 
ington  will  yet  prevail." 

"What's  the  matter,  Isaac?"  replied  she;  "thee 
seems  moved." 

"Well,  if  I  seem  moved,  'tis  no  more  than 
what  I  really  am.  I  have  this  day  seen  what  I 
never  expected.  Thee  knows  that  I  always 
thought  that  the  sword  and  the  gospel  were 
utterly  inconsistent;  and  that  no  man  could  be 
a  soldier  and  a  Christian  at  the  same  time.  But 
George  Washington  has  this  day  convinced  me 
of  my  mistake." 

He  then  related  what  he  had  seen,  and  con 
cluded  with  this  prophetical  remark!  "If  George 
Washington  be  not  a  man  of  God,  I  am  greatly 
deceived — and  still  more  shall  I  be  deceived,  if 
God  do  not,  through  him,  work  out  a  great  sal 
vation  for  America."132 

(2)  BENSON  J.  LOSSING'S  ACCOUNT 
Isaac  Potts,  at  whose  house  Washington  was 
quartered,  relates  that  one  day,  while  the  Ameri 
cans  were  encamped  at  Valley  Forge,  he  strolled 
up  the  creek,  when,  not  far  from  his  den,  he 
heard  a  solemn  voice.  He  walked  quietly  in 
the  direction  of  it,  and  saw  Washington's  horse 
tied  to  a  sapling.  In  a  thicket  near  by  was  the 
Age  46]  108  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

beloved  chief  upon  his  knees  in  prayer,  his 
cheeks  suffused  with  tears.  Like  Moses  at  the 
bush,  Isaac  felt  the  he  was  upon  holy  ground, 
and  withdrew  unobserved.  He  was  much  agi 
tated,  and,  on  entering  the  room  where  his  wife 
was,  he  burst  into  tears.  On  her  inquiring  the 
cause,  he  informed  her  of  what  he  had  seen,  and 
added,  "If  there  is  anyone  on  this  earth  whom 
the  Lord  will  listen  to,  it  is  George  Washington; 
and  I  feel  a  presentiment  that  under  such  a  com 
mander  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  our  eventually 
establishing  our  independence,  and  that  God  in 
his  providence  has  willed  it  so."133 

(3)     TESTIMONY  OF  DEVAULT  BEAVER 
Extract  of  a  letter  from  a  Baptist  minister  to 
the  editor  of  the  (Boston)  Christian  Watchman, 
dated  Baltimore,  January  13,  1832: 

"The  meetinghouse  (which  is  built  of  stone) 
belonging  to  the  church  just  alluded  to  is  in 
sight  of  the  spot  on  which  the  American  army, 
under  the  command  of  General  Washington, 
was  encamped  during  a  most  severe  winter. 
This,  you  know,  was  then  called  'Valley  Forge.1 
It  is  affecting  to  hear  the  old  people  narrate 
the  sufferings  of  the  army,  when  the  soldiers  were 
frequently  tracked  by  the  blood  from  the  sore 
and  bare  feet,  lacerated  by  the  rough  and  frozen 
roads  over  which  they  were  obliged  to  pass. 
1778]  104  [Age  46 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

"You  will  recollect  that  a  most  interesting 
incident,  in  relation  to  the  life  of  the  great 
American  commander-in-chief,  has  been  related 
as  follows:  That  while  stationed  here  with  the 
army  he  was  frequently  observed  to  visit  a 
secluded  grove.  This  excited  the  curiosity  of  a 
Mr.  Potts,  of  the  denomination  of  'Friends?  who 
watched  his  movements  at  one  of  these  seasons 
of  retirement,  till  he  perceived  that  he  was  on  his 
knees  and  engaged  in  prayer.  Mr.  Potts  then 
returned,  and  said  to  his  family,  'Our  cause  is 
lost9  (he  was  with  the  Tories),  assigning  his 
reasons  for  this  opinion.  There  is  a  man  by  the 
name  of  Devault  Beaver,  now  living  on  this  spot 
(and  is  eighty  years  of  age),  who  says  he  has 
this  statement  from  Mr.  Potts  and  his  family. 

"I  had  before  heard  this  interesting  anecdote 
in  the  life  of  our  venerated  Washington,  but  had 
some  misgivings  about  it,  all  of  which  are  now 
fully  removed."134 

(4)     TESTIMONY  OF  DOCTOR  SNOWDEN 
The  following  note  was  written  to  the  Rev. 
T.  W.  J.  Wylie,  D.D.,  pastor  of  the  First  Re 
formed  Presbyterian  Church,  of  Philadelphia, 
February  28,  1862: 

My  DEAR  SIR — Referring  to  your  request,  I  have 
to  say  that  I  cannot  lay  my  hands  at  present  upon 
my  father's  papers.  I  recollect  that  among  his 
Age  46]  105  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

manuscript  "Reminiscences,"  was  a  statement  of  his 
interview  with  Mr.  Potts,  a  Friend,  near  Valley 
Forge,  who  pointed  out  to  him  the  spot  where  he 
saw  General  Washington  at  prayer  in  the  winter  of 
1777.  This  event  induced  Friend  Potts  to  become  a 
Whig;  and  he  told  his  wife  Betty,  that  the  cause  of 
America  was  a  good  cause,  and  would  prevail,  and 
that  they  must  now  support  it.  Mr.  Weems,  in  his 
"Life  of  Washington,"  mentions  this  incident  a  little 
differently;  but  my  father  had  it  from  Mr.  Potts  per 
sonally,  and  the  statement  herein  made  may  there 
fore  be  relied  on  as  accurate. 
I  am,  with  great  regard, 

Yours  truly, 
JAMES  Ross  SNOWDEN. 

Dr.  Wylie  says,  "We  have  heard  the  incident 
just  related  from  the  lips  of  the  late  Dr.  N.  R. 
Snowden,  who  was  informed  of  it  by  the  person 
himself."135 

(5)  GENERAL  KNOX  A  WITNESS 
It  may  be  added  that  besides  the  individual 
named  above  as  having  witnessed  the  private 
devotions  of  General  Washington  at  Valley 
Forge,  it  is  known  that  General  Knox  also  was 
an  accidental  witness  of  the  same,  and  was  fully 
apprised  that  prayer  was  the  object  of  the  Com 
mander's  frequent  visits  to  the  grove.  This 
officer  was  especially  devoted  to  the  person  of 
the  Commander-in-chief,  and  had  very  free  and 

1778]  106  tA«e  46 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

familiar  access  to  him,  which  may  in  some  meas 
ure  account  for  his  particular  knowledge  of  his 
habits. 

That  an  adjacent  wood  should  have  been 
selected  as  his  private  oratory,  while  regularly 
encamped  for  the  winter,  may  excite  the  inquiry 
of  some.  The  cause  may  possibly  be  found  in 
the  fact  that,  in  common  with  the  officers  and 
soldiers  of  the  army,  he  lodged  during  that  win 
ter  in  a  log  hut,  which,  from  the  presence  of  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  perhaps  other  inmates,  and  the 
fewness  of  the  apartments,  did  not  admit  of  that 
privacy  proper  for  such  a  duty.136 

(6)  INDEPENDENCE  BORN  OF  PRAYER 
"Few  scenes  have  had  so  much  moral  grandeur 
in  them  as  this.  Repeated  disaster  and  defeat 
had  disappointed  the  army  and  the  nation. 
Suffering,  to  an  extreme  degree,  was  in  the 
camp,  and  thousands  of  brave  men  were  without 
the  necessities  of  life.  The  independence  of  the 
nation  was  in  jeopardy.  Attempts  were  made 
to  stab  the  reputation  of  the  commander,  and  to 
degrade  him  from  office.  Provision  for  the  army 
was  to  be  made,  murmurs  and  discontents  sup 
pressed,  calumny  to  be  met,  plans  formed  for  a 
future  campaign,  the  nation  to  be  inspirited  and 
aroused;  an  active  enemy  was  in  the  neighbor 
hood,  flushed  with  recent  victory,  and  preparing 

Age  40]  107  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

to  achieve  new  triumphs;  and  in  these  circum 
stances  the  Father  of  his  Country  went  alone 
and  sought  strength  and  guidance  from  the  God 
of  armies  and  light.  The  ear  of  Heaven  was  pro 
pitious  to  his  prayer;  and  who  can  tell  how  much 
of  the  subsequent  brilliant  success  of  the  Ameri 
can  armies  was  in  answer  to  the  prayers  of  the 
American  general  at  Valley  Forge?  To  latest 
times  it  will  and  should  be  a  subject  of  the  deep 
est  interest  that  the  independence  of  our  country 
was  laid,  not  only  in  valor  and  patriotism  and 
wisdom,  but  in  prayer.  The  example  of  Wash 
ington  will  rebuke  the  warrior  or  the  statesman 
who  never  supplicates  the  blessing  of  God  on  his 
country.  It  will  be  encouragement  for  him  who 
prays  for  its  welfare  and  its  deliverance  from 
danger."137 

"EXAMPLE  OF  CHRISTIAN  CHARITY" 
Whileen  camped  at  Valley  Forge  one  day  a 
Tory  who  was  well  known  in  the  neighborhood 
was  captured  and  brought  into  camp.  His 
name  was  Michael  Wittman,  and  he  was  ac 
cused  of  having  carried  aid  and  information  to 
the  British  in  Philadelphia.  He  was  taken  to 
West  Chester  and  there  tried  by  court-martial. 
It  was  proved  that  he  was  a  very  dangerous  man 
and  that  he  had  more  than  once  attempted  to 
do  great  harm  to  the  American  army.  He  was 

1778]  108  [Age  46 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

pronounced  guilty  of  being  a  spy  and  sentenced 
to  be  hanged. 

On  the  evening  of  the  day  before  that  set  for 
the  execution,  a  strange  old  man  appeared  at 
Valley  Forge.  He  was  a  small  man  with  long, 
snow-white  hair  falling  over  his  shoulders.  His 
face,  although  full  of  kindliness,  was  sad-looking 
and  thoughtful;  his  eyes,  which  were  bright  and 
sharp,  were  upon  the  ground  and  lifted  only 
when  he  was  speaking.  .  .  . 

His  name  was  announced. 

"Peter  Miller?"  said  Washington.  "Certainly. 
Show  him  in  at  once." 

"General  Washington,  I  have  come  to  ask  a 
great  favor  of  you,"  he  said,  in  his  usual  kindly 
tones. 

"I  shall  be  glad  to  grant  you  almost  any 
thing,"  said  Washington,  "for  we  surely  are  in 
debted  to  you  for  many  favors.  Tell  me  what 
it  is." 

"I  hear,"  said  Peter,  "that  Michael  Wittman 
has  been  found  guilty  of  treason  and  that  he  is  to 
be  hanged  at  Turk's  Head  to-morrow.  I  have 
come  to  ask  you  to  pardon  him." 

Washington  started  back,  and  a  cloud  came 
over  his  face. 

"That  is  impossible,"  he  said.  "Wittman 
is  a  bad  man.  He  has  done  all  in  his  power 
to  betray  us.  He  has  even  offered  to  join 

Age  46] 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  British  and  aid  in  destroying  us.  In  these 
times  we  dare  not  be  lenient  with  traitors; 
and  for  that  reason  I  cannot  pardon  your 
friend." 

"Friend!"  cried  Peter.  "Why,  he  is  no  friend 
of  mine.  He  is  my  bitterest  enemy.  He  has 
persecuted  me  for  years.  He  has  even  beaten 
me  and  spit  in  my  face,  knowing  full  well  that  I 
would  not  strike  back.  Michael  Wittman  is  no 
friend  of  mine." 

Washington  was  puzzled.  "And  still  you 
wish  me  to  pardon  him?"  he  asked. 

"I  do,"  answered  Peter.  "I  ask  it  of  you  as 
a  great  personal  favor." 

"Tell  me,"  said  Washington,  with  hesitating 
voice,  "why  is  it  that  you  thus  ask  the  pardon 
of  your  worst  enemy?" 

"I  ask  it  because  Jesus  did  as  much  for  me," 
was  the  old  man's  brief  answer. 

Washington  turned  away  and  went  into  an 
other  room.  Soon  he  returned  with  a  paper  on 
which  was  written  the  pardon  of  Michael  Witt 
man. 

"My  dear  friend,"  he  said,  as  he  placed  it  in 
the  old  man's  hands,  "I  thank  you  for  this  ex 
ample  of  Christian  charity."138 

ACKNOWLEDGES  RECEIPT  OF  SERMON 
On  March  13,  1778,  he  writes  from  Valley 

1778]  HO  [Age  46 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

Forge  to  the  Reverend  Israel  Evans,  acknowl 
edging  the  receipt  of  his  sermon,  as  follows : 

Your  favor  of  the  17th  ultimo,  enclosing  the  Dis 
course  which  you  delivered  on  the  18th  of  December, 
the  day  set  apart  for  a  general  thanksgiving,  never 
came  to  my  hands  till  yesterday.  I  have  read  this 
performance  with  equal  attention  and  pleasure;  and 
at  the  same  time  that  I  admire  and  feel  the  force  of 
your  reasoning  which  you  have  displayed  through 
the  whole,  it  is  more  especially  incumbent  upon  me 
to  thank  you  for  the  honorable  but  partial  mention 
you  have  made  of  my  character,  and  to  assure  you 
that  it  will  ever  be  the  first  wish  of  my  heart  to  aid 
your  pious  endeavors  to  inculcate  a  due  sense  of  the 
dependence  we  ought  to  place  in  the  all-wise  and 
powerful  Being,  on  whom  alone  our  success  de 
pends.139 

FASTING 

An  order  issued  at  Headquarters,  Valley  Forge, 
April  12,  1778,  includes  the  following  directions 
for  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer: 

The  Honorable  the  Congress  having  thought  prop 
er  to  recommend  to  the  United  States  of  America  to 
set  apart  Wednesday,  the  22nd  inst.,  to  be  observed 
as  a  day  of  Fasting,  Humiliation  and  Prayer,  that  at 
one  time,  and  with  one  voice,  the  righteous  dispen 
sations  of  Providence  may  be  acknowledged,  and  His 
goodness  and  mercy  towards  our  arms  supplicated 
and  implored: 
Age  46]  HI  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

The  General  directs  that  the  day  shall  be  most  re 
ligiously  observed  in  the  Army;  that  no  work  shall 
be  done  thereon,  and  that  the  several  chaplains  do 
prepare  discourses  suitable  to  the  occasion.140 

CHRISTIAN  ABOVE  PATRIOT 

The  following  order  was  issued  at  Headquar 
ters,  Valley  Forge,  May  2,  1778: 

The  Commander-in-chief  directs  that  Divine  serv 
ice  be  performed  every  Sunday  at  11  o'clock,  in  each 
Brigade  which  has  a  Chaplain.  Those  Brigades 
which  have  none  will  attend  the  places  of  worship 
nearest  to  them. — It  is  expected  that  officers  of  all 
ranks  will,  by  their  attendance,  set  an  example  for 
their  men.  While  we  are  duly  performing  the  duty 
of  good  soldiers  we  certainly  ought  not  to  be  inat 
tentive  to  the  higher  duties  of  religion.  To  the  dis 
tinguished  character  of  a  Patriot  it  should  be  our 
highest  glory  to  add  the  more  distinguished  character 
of  a  Christian. 

The  signal  instances  of  Providential  goodness 
which  we  have  experienced,  and  which  have  almost 
crowned  our  arms  with  complete  success,  demand 
from  us,  in  a  peculiar  manner,  the  warmest  returns  of 
gratitude  and  piety  to  the  Supreme  Author  of  all 
Good.141 

THANKSGIVING  ORDERED 

An  order  issued  at  Valley  Forge,  May  5,  1778, 
begins  as  follows: 

1778]  112  [Age  46 


PRAYER  AT  VALLEY  FORGE 

It  having  pleased  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the  Uni 
verse  propitiously  to  defend  the  cause  of  the  United 
American  States,  and  finally  by  raising  us  up  a  pow 
erful  friend  among  the  Princes  of  the  earth,  to  es 
tablish  our  Liberty  and  Independence  upon  a  lasting 
foundation;  it  becomes  us  to  set  apart  a  day  for 
gratefully  acknowledging  the  Divine  Goodness,  and 
celebrating  the  event,  which  we  owe  to  His  benign 
interposition.  The  several  brigades  are  to  be  as 
sembled  at  nine  o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  when 
their  Chaplains  will  communicate  the  intelligence 
contained  in  the  Postscript  of  the  Gazette  of  2nd 
inst.,  and  offer  up  a  thanksgiving,  and  deliver  a  dis 
course  suitable  to  the  occasion.142 

"Washington,  with  his  lady,  and  suite,  Lord 
Stirling  and  his  lady,  with  other  general  officers 
and  ladies,  attended  the  religious  services  of 
the  Jersey  brigade,  when  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hunter 
delivered  a  discourse."143 

RECOGNIZES  PROTECTION  OF  PROVIDENCE 
In  a  letter  to  Landon  Carter,  written  from 
Valley  Forge,  May  30,  1778,  he  says: 

My  friends,  therefore,  may  believe  me  sincere  in 
my  professions  of  attachment  to  them,  whilst  Provi 
dence  has  a  just  claim  to  my  humble  and  grateful 
thanks  for  its  protection  and  direction  of  me  through^ 
the  many  difficult  and  intricate  scenes  which  this 
contest  has  produced;  and  for  its  constant  interposi- 
Age  46]  H3  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

tion  in  our  behalf,  when  the  clouds  were  heaviest  and 
seemed  ready  to  burst  upon  us. 

To  paint  the  distresses  and  perilous  situation  of 
this  army  in  the  course  of  last  winter,  for  want  of 
clothes,  provisions,  and  almost  every  other  necessary 
essential  to  the  well-being,  I  may  say  existence,  of 
an  army,  would  require  more  time  and  an  abler  pen 
than  mine;  nor,  since  our  prospects  have  so  miracu 
lously  brightened,  shall  I  attempt  it,  or  even  bear 
it  in  remembrance,  further  than  as  a  memento  of 
what  is  due  to  the  great  Author  of  all  the  care  and 
good  that  have  been  extended  in  relieving  us  in  dif 
ficulties  and  distresses.144 


17781  114  [Age  46 


CHAPTER  VIII 
WASHINGTON  NOT  PROFANE 

(1)  BATTLE  OF  MONMOUTH 
AN  effort  has  been  made  by  some,  holding  in 
fidel  views,  to  bring  down  Washington  to  the 
common  level  of  other  men,  by  conveying  the 
impression  that  he  was  in  the  habit  of  swearing. 
He  was  a  man  of  strong  passions,  we  will  allow 
(and  few  very  great  men  have  been  otherwise), 
but  they  were  wonderfully  regulated  and  con 
trolled  by  religious  principle.  Two  occasions 
have  been  named,  when,  it  is  asserted  by  some, 
Washington  used  profane  language.  One  was 
at  the  battle  of  Monmouth  and  the  other  was 
when  he  received  the  news  of  St.  Glair's  defeat 
by  the  Indians.  Concerning  the  incident  at 
Monmouth,  the  following  testimony  seems  con 
clusive: 

(2)     PERSONAL  WITNESSES 
The  following  interesting  communication  from 

General  Joseph  G.  Swift,  of  Geneva,  New  York, 

will  be  read  with  interest: 

"I  had  long  ago  heard  of  Washington's  using 

harsh  language  to  Lee  at  Monmouth  (June  28, 

Age  46]  115  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

1778) ;  and  having,  in  1804,  a  letter  of  introduc 
tion  to  General  Marshall,  at  Richmond,  I  in 
quired  as  to  the  facts.  The  general  said  that 
the  story  of  coarse  language  between  Wash 
ington  and  Lee  was  not  true.  General  Marshall 
was  captain  on  the  field  of  Monmouth,  and  near 
Washington.  He  stated  that  Lee's  language 
was  decorous,  and  that  Washington's  manner  and 
language  was  austere,  but  not  profane.  In  the 
year  1803,  I  was  in  Albany  with  my  then  chief. 
Colonel  Williams,  and  there  heard  General  Alex 
ander  Hamilton  say  to  General  Schuyler  and 
Colonel  Williams  that  the  story  of  General 
Washington's  profanity  at  Fort  Lee,  on  a  visit  of 
inspection,  was  not  true.  Washington  was  dis 
appointed  at  not  finding  the  commandant  at 
his  post,  and  expressed  his  displeasure  in  strong 
language  but  not  with  an  oath.  While  a  member 
of  General  Thomas  Pinckney's  military  family 
in  South  Carolina,  1812,  I  heard  his  brother, 
General  C.  C.  Pinckney,  frequently  mention 
conversations  with  General  Washington.  He 
said  that  he  was  habitually  grave  in  discourse, 
cautious  in  expression,  slow  and  accurate  in 
judgment,  but  with  intimate  friends,  easy, 
though  rarely  jocose.  Now,  General  C.  C. 
Pinckney  was  remarkable  for  facetiousness  and 
humor,  and  at  the  table  of  his  brother  was  fond 
of  conversing  with  young  men;  neither  of  these 

1778]  li  [Age  46 


WASHINGTON  NOT  PROFANE 

brothers  believed  the  story  of  Washington's 
swearing  at  Lee.  At  the  meeting  of  Washington 
and  Lee,  the  language  of  the  former  might  be 
more  to  undo  the  evil  then  in  progress,  than  to 
expend  words  on  Lee.  It  is  fair  to  conclude 
that  Washington's  mind,  so  well  known  for 
coolness  in  battle,  would  be  far  more  engaged 
in  restoring  the  order  of  the  day  in  pursuit  of 
the  enemy,  than  in  applying  epithets  to  Lee."145 

(3)  TESTIMONY  AT  THE  COURT-MARTIAL 
The  scenes  and  events  of  that  day  were  the 
subject  of  a  prolonged  and  very  critical  investi 
gation  while  the  actors  in  them  were  still  within 
reach  and,  as  it  were,  fresh  from  the  field. 
General  Lee's  trial  by  a  general  court-martial, 
beginning  on  the  4th  of  July,  six  days  after  the 
battle,  ended  on  the  12th  of  August,  with  his 
suspension  from  any  command  in  the  armies  of 
the  United  States  of  North  America,  for  the 
term  of  twelve  months.  The  statements  of 
General  Washington  and  General  Lee  in  the  cor 
respondence  which  led  to  the  court-martial,  the 
sworn  testimony  of  the  witnesses  upon  the  trial, 
and  the  defense  of  General  Lee  himself,  furnish 
conclusive  evidence  of  the  utter  falsehood  of 
these  pretended  traditions  which  have  gained 
entrance  where  they  ought  never  to  have  been 
received  for  a  moment.146 

Age  46]  H7  [1778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

(4)  STATEMENT  OF  GENERAL  SCOTT 
General  Charles  Scott  had  a  most  inveterate 
habit  of  swearing;  whether  in  private  or  public 
society,  on  his  farm,  or  the  field  of  battle,  every 
other  word  was  an  oath.  On  the  night  preceding 
the  battle  of  Princeton,  Scott  received  an  order 
from  the  Commander-in-chief  in  person  to  defend 
a  bridge  to  the  last  extremity.  "To  the  last  man, 
your  excellency,"  replied  Scott;  and,  forgetting 
the  presence  of  the  chief,  accompanied  the 
words  with  tremendous  oaths.  The  general,  as 
may  be  well  supposed,  had  but  little  time,  on 
that  eventful  evening,  to  notice  or  chide  this 
want  of  decorum  in  his  brave  and  well-tried 
soldier.  After  the  war,  a  friend  of  the  gallant 
general,  anxious  to  reform  his  evil  habits,  asked 
him  whether  it  was  possible  that  the  man  so 
much  beloved,  the  admired  Washington,  ever 
swore?  Scott  reflected  for  a  moment,  and  then 
exclaimed,  "Yes,  once.  It  was  at  Monmouth, 
and  on  a  day  that  would  have  made  any  man 
swear.  Yes,  sir,  he  swore  on  that  day,  till  the 
leaves  shook  on  the  trees,  charming,  delightful. 
Never  have  I  enjoyed  such  swearing  before,  or 
since.  Sir,  on  that  ever  memorable  day  he 
swore  like  an  angel  from  heaven."147 

It  is  more  than  likely  that  the  profane  general 
fully  recognized  the  vast  difference  between  his 
own  language  and  that  of  the  high-minded 

1778]  118  [Age  46 


WASHINGTON  NOT  PROFANE 

Washington.  Hence,  he  likens  him  to  an 
"angel,"  saying,  "He  swore  like  an  angel  from 
heaven."  As  much  as  to  say,  the  provocation 
was  "enough  to  make  an  angel  swear,  but  Wash 
ington  swore  no  more  than  an  angel  from 
heaven."  How  would  an  angel  from  heaven 
swear?  General  Scott  really  paid  the  great 
Washington  the  highest  compliment  and  in  a 
very  delicate  manner  denied  the  accusation  of 
profanity. 

NEVER-FAILING  PROVIDENCE 
In  a  letter  to  John  Augustine  Washington, 
July  4,  1778,  telling  of  the  battle  of  Monmouth 
and  General  Lee's  retreat,  he  says: 

The  disorder  arising  from  it  [the  retreat]  would 
have  proved  fatal  to  the  army  had  not  that  bounti 
ful  Providence,  which  has  never  failed  us  in  the  hour 
of  distress,  enabled  me  to  form  a  regiment  or  two 
[of  those  that  were  retreating]  in  the  face  of  the 
enemy  and  under  their  fires.148 

WORSE  THAN  AN  INFIDEL 
In  a  letter  to  Brigadier-General  Nelson,  of 
Virginia,  written  from  White  Plains,  New  York, 
August  20,  1778,  he  says: 

The  hand  of  Providence  has  been  conspicuous  in 
all  this,  that  he  must  be  worse  than  an  infidel  that 
lacks  faith,  and  more  than  wicked  that  has  not 
Age  46]  H9  ^778 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

gratitude  enough  to  acknowledge  his  obligations. 
But  it  will  be  time  enough  for  me  to  turn  preacher 
when  my  present  appointment  ceases;  and  there 
fore  I  shall  add  no  more  on  the  doctrine  of  Provi 
dence.149 

MORALS  IRREPROACHABLE 
In  a  letter  from  "a  gentleman  of  Maryland" 
to  a  friend  in  Europe,  written  May  3,  1779,  is 
the   following: 

"He  is  strictly  just,  vigilant,  and  generous;  an 
affectionate  husband,  a  faithful  friend,  a  father 
to  the  deserving  soldiers;  gentle  in  manners,  in 
temper  rather  reserved;  a  total  stranger  to  re 
ligious  prejudices,  which  have  so  often  excited 
Christians  of  one  denomination  to  cut  the 
throats  of  those  of  another;  in  his  morals  irre 
proachable;  he  was  never  known  to  exceed  the 
bounds  of  the  most  rigid  temperance."150 

CHARACTER  SKETCH 

In  a  sketch  written  in  1779,  "by  an  American 
Gentleman  now  in  London,  who  is  well  ac 
quainted  with  him,"  we  find  the  following: 

"He  punishes  neglect  of  duty  with  great  se 
verity,  but  is  very  tender  and  indulgent  to  re 
cruits  until  they  learn  the  articles  of  war  and 
their  exercises  perfectly." 

"He  regularly  attends  divine  service  in  his 

1779]  120  [Age  47 


WASHINGTON  NOT  PROFANE 

tent  every  morning  and  evening,  and  seems  very 
fervent  in  his  prayers." 

"He  is  so  tender-hearted  that  no  soldiers  must 
be  flogged  nigh  his  tent;  or  if  he  is  walking  in  the 
camp  and  sees  a  man  tied  to  the  halberds,  he  will 
either  order  him  to  be  taken  down  or  walk 
another  way  to  avoid  the  sight." 

"He  is  humane  to  the  prisoners  who  fall  into 
his  hands,  and  orders  everything  necessary  for 
their  relief."151 


Age  47]  121  [1779 


CHAPTER  IX 

GENERAL  WASHINGTON  A  MAN  OF 
PRAYER 

(1)  AT  A  FARMER'S  HOUSE 
The  Rev.  E.  C.  M'Guire,  often  quoted  in  this 
volume,  relates  an  additional  example  of  Wash 
ington  engaged  in  prayer  as  occurring  during 
the  war,  which,  he  says,  was  taken  from  a 
respectable  literary  journal  published  in  New 
York.  It  is  here  inserted  as  having  in  its  promi 
nent  points  all  the  appearance  of  truth: 

"One  pleasant  evening  in  the  month  of  June, 
in  the  year  1779  (?),  a  man  was  observed  enter 
ing  the  borders  of  a  wood,  near  the  Hudson 
River,  his  appearance  that  of  a  person  above 
the  common  rank.  The  inhabitants  of  a  coun 
try  village  would  have  dignified  him  with  the 
title  of  squire,  and  from  his  manner,  have  pro 
nounced  him  proud;  but  those  more  accus 
tomed  to  society  would  inform  you,  there  was 
something  like  a  military  air  about  him.  His 
horse  panted  as  if  it  had  been  hard  pushed  for 
some  miles,  yet  from  the  owner's  frequent  stops 
to  caress  the  patient  animal,  he  could  not  be 
charged  with  want  of  humanity,  but  seemed  to 

1779]  122  [Age  47 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 

be  actuated  by  some  urgent  necessity.  The 
rider's  forsaking  a  good  road  for  the  bypath 
leading  through  the  woods  indicated  a  desire  to 
avoid  the  gaze  of  other  travelers.  He  had  not 
left  the  house  where  he  inquired  the  direction  of 
the  above  mentioned  path  more  than  two  hours 
before  the  quietude  of  the  place  was  broken  by 
the  noise  of  distant  thunder.  He  was  soon  after 
obliged  to  dismount,  traveling  becoming  danger 
ous,  as  darkness  concealed  surrounding  objects, 
except  when  the  lightning's  terrific  flash  afforded 
a  momentary  view  of  his  situation.  A  peal 
louder  and  of  longer  duration  than  any  of  the 
preceding,  which  now  burst  over  his  head,  seem 
ing  as  if  it  would  rend  the  woods  asunder,  was 
quickly  followed  by  a  heavy  fall  of  rain,  which 
penetrated  the  clothing  of  the  stranger  ere  he 
could  obtain  the  shelter  of  a  large  oak,  which 
stood  at  a  little  distance. 

"Almost  exhausted  with  the  labors  of  the 
day,  he  was  about  making  such  disposition  of 
the  saddle  and  his  own  coat,  as  would  enable 
him  to  pass  the  night  with  what  comfort  cir 
cumstances  would  admit,  when  he  espied  a  light 
glimmering  through  the  trees.  Animated  with 
the  hope  of  better  lodgings,  he  determined  to 
proceed.  The  way,  which  was  somewhat  steep, 
became  attended  with  more  obstacles  the  farther 
he  advanced,  the  soil  being  composed  of  clay, 

Age  47]  123  [1779 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

which  the  rain  had  rendered  so  soft  that  his  feet 
slipped  at  every  step.  By  the  utmost  perse 
verance,  this  difficulty  was  finally  overcome 
without  any  accident,  and  he  had  the  pleasure 
of  finding  himself  in  front  of  a  decent  looking 
farmhouse.  The  watchdog  began  barking,  which 
brought  the  owner  of  the  mansion  to  the  door. 

"  'Who  is  there?'  said  he. 

''  'A  friend  who  has  lost  his  way,  and  in  search 
of  a  place  of  shelter,5  was  the  answer. 

*  'Come  in,  sir,'  added  the  first  speaker,  'and 
whatever  my  house  will  afford,  you  shall  have 
with  welcome/ 

'*  'I  must  first  provide  for  the  weary  com 
panion  of  my  journey,'  remarked  the  other. 

"But  the  former  undertook  the  task,  and  after 
conducting  the  newcomer  into  a  room  where  his 
wife  was  seated,  he  led  the  horse  to  a  well- 
stored  barn,  and  there  provided  for  him  most 
bountifully.  On  rejoining  the  traveler,  he  ob 
served,  'that  is  a  noble  animal  of  yours,  sir.' 

"  'Yes,'  was  the  reply,  'and  I  am  sorry  that  I 
was  obliged  to  misuse  him  so,  as  to  make  it  nec 
essary  to  give  you  much  trouble  with  the  care 
of  him;  but  I  have  yet  to  thank  you  for  your 
kindness  to  both  of  us.' 

"  'I  did  no  more  than  my  duty,  sir,'  said  the 
entertainer,  'and  therefore  I  am  entitled  to  no 
thanks.  But  Susan,'  added  he,  turning  to  the 

1779]  124  [Age  47 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 

hostess,  with  a  half -reproachful  look,  'why  have 
you  not  given  the  gentleman  something  to  eat?' 

"Fear  had  prevented  the  good  woman  from 
exercising  her  well-known  benevolence,  for  a 
robbery  had  been  committed  by  a  lawless  band 
of  depredators  but  a  few  days  before,  in  that 
neighborhood,  and  as  report  stated  that  the  ruf 
fians  were  all  well  dressed,  her  imagination  sug 
gested  that  this  man  might  be  one  of  them. 

"At  her  husband's  remonstrance,  she  now 
readily  engaged  in  repairing  her  error,  by  pre 
paring  a  plentiful  repast.  During  the  meal, 
there  was  much  interesting  conversation  among 
the  three.  As  soon  as  the  worthy  countryman 
perceived  that  his  guest  had  satisfied  his  appetite 
he  informed  him  that  it  was  now  the  hour  at 
which  the  family  usually  performed  their  even 
ing  devotions,  inviting  him  at  the  same  time  to 
be  present.  The  invitation  was  accepted  in 
these  words: 

"  'It  would  afford  me  the  greatest  pleasure  to 
commune  with  my  heavenly  Preserver,  after  the 
events  of  the  day;  such  exercises  prepare  us  for 
the  repose  we  seek  in  sleep.' 

"The  host  now  reached  his  Bible  from  the 
shelf,  and  after  reading  a  chapter  and  singing, 
concluded  the  whole  with  a  fervent  prayer;  then 
lighting  a  pine-knot,  conducted  the  person  he 
had  entertained  to  his  chamber,  wished  him  a 

Age  47]  125  [1779 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

good  night's  rest,  and  retired  to  the  adjoining 
apartment. 

"  'John,'  whispered  the  woman,  'that  is  a  good 
gentleman,  and  not  one  of  the  highwaymen  as  I 
supposed.' 

:  'Yes,  Susan,'  said  he,  'I  like  him  better  for 
thinking  of  his  God,  than  for  all  his  kind  in 
quiries  after  our  welfare.  I  wish  our  Peter  had 
been  home  from  the  army,  if  it  was  only  to  hear 
this  good  man  talk;  I  am  sure  Washington  him 
self  could  not  say  more  for  his  country,  nor  give 
a  better  history  of  the  hardships  endured  by 
our  brave  soldiers.' 

"  'Who  knows  now,'  inquired  the  wife,  'but  it 
may  be  he  himself,  after  all,  my  dear,  for  they 
do  say,  he  travels  just  so,  all  alone,  sometimes. 
Hark!  what's  that?' 

"The  sound  of  a  voice  came  from  the  chamber 
of  their  guest,  who  was  now  engaged  in  his  pri 
vate  religious  worship.  After  thanking  the  Crea 
tor  for  his  many  mercies,  and  asking  a  blessing 
on  the  inhabitants  of  the  house,  he  continued: 
'And  now,  Almighty  Father,  if  it  is  Thy  holy  will, 
that  we  shall  obtain  a  place  and  a  name  among 
the  nations  of  the  earth,  grant  that  we  may  be 
enabled  to  show  our  gratitude  for  Thy  goodness, 
by  our  endeavors  to  fear  and  obey  Thee.  Bless 
us  with  wisdom  in  our  councils,  success  in  battle, 
and  let  all  our  victories  be  tempered  with 

1779]  126  lA«e  47 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 

humanity.  Endow  also  our  enemies  with  en 
lightened  minds,  that  they  may  become  sensible 
of  their  injustice,  and  willing  to  restore  our  lib 
erty  and  peace.  Grant  the  petition  of  Thy  ser 
vant  for  the  sake  of  Him  whom  Thou  hast 
called  Thy  Beloved  Son;  nevertheless,  not  my 
will,  but  Thine  be  done.  Amen.' 

"The  next  morning,  the  traveler,  declining 
the  pressing  solicitations  to  breakfast  with  his 
host,  declared  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  cross 
the  river  immediately;  at  the  same  time  offering 
a  part  of  his  purse,  as  a  compensation  for  the 
attention  he  had  received,  which  was  refused. 

"  'Well,  sir,'  concluded  he,  'since  you  will  not 
permit  me  to  recompense  you  for  your  trouble, 
it  is  but  just  that  I  should  inform  you  on  whom 
you  have  conferred  so  many  obligations,  and 
also  add  to  them  by  requesting  your  assistance 
in  crossing  the  river.  I  had  been  out  yesterday, 
endeavoring  to  obtain  some  information  respect 
ing  our  enemy,  and  being  alone,  ventured  too  far 
from  the  camp ;  on  my  return  I  was  surprised  by 
a  foraging  party,  and  only  escaped  by  my  knowl 
edge  of  the  roads  and  the  fleetness  of  my  horse. 
My  name  is  George  Washington.' 

"Surprise  kept  the  listener  silent  for  a  mo 
ment;  then,  after  unsuccessfully  repeating  the  in 
vitation  to  partake  of  some  refreshment,  he 
hastened  to  call  two  negroes,  with  whose  assist- 

Age  47]  127  [1779 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

ance  he  placed  the  horse  on  a  small  raft  of 
timber,  that  was  lying  in  the  river  near  the  door, 
and  soon  conveyed  the  General  to  the  opposite 
side,  where  he  left  him  to  pursue  his  way  to  the 
camp,  wishing  him  a  safe  and  prosperous  jour 
ney.  On  his  return  to  the  house  he  found  that 
while  he  was  engaged  in  making  preparations 
for  conveying  the  horse  across  the  river  his 
illustrious  visitor  had  persuaded  his  wife  to 
accept  a  token  of  remembrance,  which  the  family 
are  proud  of  exhibiting  to  this  day  [1835]. "152 

(2)     ANOTHER  INSTANCE 
Here  is  another  instance  of  General  Washing 
ton's  habit  of  prayer,  witnessed  during  the  war: 
In  the  year  1820,  a  clergyman  of  his  state 

(Virginia),  being  in  company  with  Major , 

a  relative  of  General  Washington,  had  an  acci 
dental  conversation  with  him  on  the  subject  of 
Christianity.  The  conversation  was  of  a  con 
troversial  nature  in  the  beginning,  and  as  no 
good  seemed  to  ensue,  but  some  warmth  of  feel 
ing,  an  effort  was  made  to  arrest  the  unprofitable 
discussion  by  an  inquiry  made  of  the  Major,  as 
to  the  religious  opinions  of  his  distinguished 
kinsman.  This  was  done  in  part  as  knowing 
his  veneration  for  Washington,  and  for  informa 
tion  too,  as  he  had  been  captain  of  the  General's 
bodyguard  during  a  greater  part  of  the  war, 
128 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 

and  possessed  the  best  opportunities  of  learning 
his  views  and  habits.  In  answer  to  the  question, 
he  observed,  after  hesitating  for  a  moment, 
"General  Washington  was  certainly  a  pious 
man,  his  opinions  being  in  favor  of  religion,  and 
his  habits  all  of  that  character  and  description." 
Being  further  interrogated  as  to  his  habits,  he 
replied  that  his  uncle,  he  knew,  was  in  the  habit 
of  praying  in  private ;  and  with  the  animation  of 
an  old  soldier,  excited  by  professional  recollec 
tions  rather  than  [sympathy  with  the  subject, 
he  related  the  circumstances  of  the  following 
occurrence: 

"While  encamped  at  (year  and  place  forgotten 
by  the  writer) ,  New  Jersey,  a  soldier  arrived  one 
morning,  about  daybreak,  with  despatches  for 
the  Commander-in-chief,  from  a  distant  division 
of  the  army.  As  soon  as  his  business  was  known 
he  was  directed  to  me  as  captain  of  the  body 
guard,  to  whom  he  came  forthwith,  and  giving 
me  his  papers,  I  repaired  at  once  to  the  General's 
quarters.  On  my  way  to  his  room  after  reach 
ing  the  house  I  had  to  go  along  a  narrow  passage 
of  some  length.  As  I  approached  his  door,  it 
being  yet  nearly  dark,  I  listened  for  a  moment, 
when  I  distinguished  it  as  the  General's  voice, 
and  in  another  moment  found  that  he  was  en 
gaged  in  audible  prayer.  As  in  his  earnestness 
he  had  not  heard  my  footsteps,  or  if  he  heard 
129 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

me  did  not  choose  to  be  interrupted,  I  retired  to 
the  front  of  the  dwelling,  till  such  time  as  I  sup 
posed  him  unengaged;  when  returning,  and  no 
longer  hearing  his  voice,  I  knocked  at  the  door, 
which  being  promptly  opened,  I  delivered  the 
despatches,  received  an  answer,  and  dismissed 
the  soldier/'153 

(3)  HEARD  AT  PRAYER 

A  writer  says  that  the  Rev.  D.  D.  Field  men 
tioned  to  her  the  following: 

"Mrs.  Watkins,  a  daughter  of  Governor  Liv 
ingston,  being  at  my  house  in  Stockbridge,  some 
twenty  years  since  [this  was  published  in  1857], 
said  that  when  she  was  a  girl  General  Wash 
ington  lived  four  months  at  her  father's  during 
the  Revolution,  and  that  she  had  been  by  the 
side  of  his  room  and  heard  him  at  prayer.  My 
impression  is  that  she  did  this  repeatedly.  She 
said  that  his  room  was  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
building,  and  that  she  had  to  pass  through 
several  rooms  to  get  by  the  side  of  the  General's 
room.  She  stated  that  her  sisters  used  to  go 
with  her  and  listen,  and  that  their  father,  learn 
ing  what  they  were  doing,  checked  them  for  it."154 

(4)     SAW  HIM  ON  His  KNEES 
General  Robert  Porterfield,  who  was  brigade- 
inspector    under    General    Washington    in    the 
130 


A  MAN  OF  PRAYER 

Revolution,  told  General  S.  H.  Lewis  that  "upon 
one  occasion,  some  emergency  (which  he  men 
tioned)  induced  him  to  dispense  with  the  usual 
formality,  and  he  went  directly  to  General 
Washington's  apartment,  where  he  found  him 
on  his  knees,  engaged  in  morning  devotions.  He 
said  that  he  mentioned  the  circumstances  to 
General  Hamilton,  who  replied  that  such  was 
his  constant  habit."155 

(5)  ANOTHER  WITNESS 
Mr.  Cornelius  Doremus,  who  as  a  boy  was 
fond  of  waiting  on  Washington,  who  lived  part 
of  a  winter  (1781)  at  his  father's  house  in 
Pequannock,  New  Jersey,  states  that  his  bed 
chamber  was  directly  over  that  of  the  Com 
mander-in-chief,  and  that  he  often  distinctly 
heard  the  sound  of  that  deep  and  earnest  voice 
in  private  prayer.156 

(6)     DAILY  PRAYER 

"Throughout  the  war,  as  it  was  understood 
in  his  military  family,  he  gave  a  part  of  every 
day  to  private  prayer  and  devotion."157 

REGULAR  ATTENDANT  AT  DIVINE  SERVICE 

The  interruptions  which  sometimes  occurred, 

preventing  divine  service  being  performed  in 

camp,  did  not  interfere  with  attention  to  the 

131 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

duty  on  the  part  of  the  Commander-in-chief,  for 
one  of  his  secretaries,  Judge  Harrison,  has  often 
been  heard  to  say  that  "whenever  the  General 
could  be  spared  from  camp  on  the  Sabbath,  he 
never  failed  riding  out  to  some  neighboring 
church,  to  join  those  who  were  publicly  wor 
shiping  the  Great  Creator."158 

"During  the  war  he  not  unfrequently  rode 
ten  or  twelve  miles  from  camp  to  attend  public 
worship;  and  he  never  omitted  this  attendance 
when  opportunity  presented."159 

OPEN-AIR  SERVICE 

In  Thacher's  Military  Journal  is  found  a  rec 
ord  of  a  religious  service  in  the  open  field  on 
Sunday,  July  23,  1780,  as  follows:  "I  attended 
a  sermon  preached  by  Mr.  Blair,  chaplain  of  the 
artillery.  The  troops  were  paraded  in  the  open 
field,  the  sermon  was  calculated  to  inculcate 
religious  principles  and  the  moral  virtues.  His 
Excellency  General  Washington,  Major-Gen 
erals  Greene  and  Knox,  with  a  number  of  other 
officers,  were  present."160 


1780]  132 


CHAPTER  X 

WASHINGTON  AND  DIVINE 
PROVIDENCE 

PROVIDENCE    His  ONLY  DEPENDENCE 
WRITING  to  William  Gordon,  March  9,  1781, 
from  Newport,  Rhode  Island,  he  says: 

We  have,  as  you  very  justly  observe,  abundant 
reasons  to  thank  Providence  for  its  many  favorable 
interpositions  in  our  behalf.  It  has  at  times  been 
my  only  dependence,  for  all  other  resources  seemed 
to  have  failed  us.161 

HAND  OF  PROVIDENCE  RECOGNIZED 
Writing  to  Major-General  Armstrong,  March 
26,  1781,  he  says: 

Our  affairs  are  brought  to  a  perilous  crisis,  that  the 
hand  of  Providence,  I  trust,  may  be  more  conspicu 
ous  in  our  deliverance.  The  many  remarkable  inter 
positions  of  the  Divine  government  in  the  hours  of 
our  deepest  distress  and  darkness,  have  been  too 
luminous  to  suffer  me  to  doubt  the  happy  issue  of 
the  present  contest;  but  the  period  for  its  accom 
plishment  may  be  too  far  distant  for  a  person  of  my 
years,  who  in  his  morning  and  evening  hours,  and 
every  moment  un<  ccupied  by  business,  pants  for 
Age  49]  133  [1781 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

retirement,  and  for  those  domestic  and  rural  enjoy 
ments,  which  in  my  estimation  far  surpass  the  high 
est  pageantry  of  this  world.162 

ATTENDS  CHURCH  WITH  WASHINGTON 
Governor  Jonathan  Trumbull  tells  in  his  diary 
of  attending  church  with  Washington  on  Sunday, 
May  20th,  1781,  at  Wethersfield,  Connecticut: 
"Attended  divine  service  with  General  Wash 
ington  per  tot  diem  [through  the  whole  day]. 
Mr.  Marshall  preached.  Matt.  7:3,  'Blessed 
are  the  poor  in  spirit,  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven/  "163 

THANKSGIVING    SERVICE   AFTER  CORNWALLIS* 

SURRENDER 

The  closing  part  of  the  orders  issued  by  Gen 
eral  Washington  to  the  army  the  day  after  the 
capitulation  of  Yorktown,  October  20,  1781,  is 
as  follows: 

Divine  service  is  to  be  performed  to-morrow  in 
the  several  brigades  or  divisions.  The  Commander- 
in-chief  earnestly  recommends  that  the  troops  not  on 
duty  should  universally  attend  with  that  seriousness 
of  deportment  and  gratitude  of  heart  which  the  rec 
ognition  of  such  reiterated  and  astonishing  interpo 
sition  of  Providence  demands  of  us.164 

ADOPTS  CHILDREN 
John  Parke  Custis,  his  step-son,  and  the  only 

1781]  134,  [Age  49 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

son  of  Mrs.  Washington,  was  aide-de-camp  to 
General  Washington  at  the  siege  of  Yorktown. 
He  was  seized  with  a  violent  attack  of  camp- 
fever,  and  removed  to  Eltham,  Virginia,  thirty 
miles  from  Yorktown,  to  the  home  of  Colonel 
Bassett,  who  married  Mrs.  Washington's  sister. 
After  the  surrender  of  Cornwallis,  Washington 
hastened  to  his  bedside.  Mrs.  Washington  was 
already  there.  He  was  present  at  his  death, 
November  5,  1781.  "The  chief  bowed  his  head, 
and  in  tears  gave  vent  to  his  deep  sorrow;  then 
turning  to  the  weeping  mother,  he  said,  *I  adopt 
the  two  younger  children  as  my  own'  "  [Eleanor 
Parke  and  George  Washington  Parke  Custis, 
the  former  usually  called  "Nelly"].165 

BELIEF  IN  OVERRULING  PROVIDENCE 

He  writes  from  Mount  Vernon  to  the  Presi 
dent  of  Congress,  November  15, 1781,  as  follows: 

Sir,  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of 
your  favor  of  the  31st  ultimo,  covering  the  resolu 
tions  of  Congress  of  the  29th,  and  a  proclamation 
for  a  day  of  public  prayer  and  thanksgiving;  and 
have  to  thank  you,  sir,  most  sincerely,  for  the  very 
polite  and  affectionate  manner  in  which  those  en 
closures  have  been  conveyed.  The  success  of  the 
combined  arms  against  our  enemies  at  York  and 
Gloucester,  as  it  affects  the  welfare  and  independence 
of  the  United  States,  I  viewed  as  a  most  fortunate 
Age  49]  135  [1781 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

event.  In  performing  my  part  towards  its  accom 
plishment,  I  consider  myself  to  have  done  only  my 
duty,  and  in  the  execution  of  that,  I  ever  feel  myself 
happy;  and  at  the  same  time,  as  it  augurs  well  to  our 
cause,  I  take  a  particular  pleasure  in  acknowledging 
that  the  interposing  hand  of  Heaven,  in  the  various 
instances  of  our  extensive  preparations  for  this  opera 
tion,  has  been  most  conspicuous  and  remarkable.166 

INTEMPERANCE  DISCOURAGED 
While  intoxicating  liquor  was  in  general  use  in 
Washington's  time,  being  regarded  as  beneficial, 
he  discouraged  intemperance  in  the  army,  as 
shown  in  the  following  "order,"  issued  at  Head 
quarters,  Newburgh,  New  York,  May  16,  1782: 

The  General  is  extremely  concerned  to  learn  that 
an  article  so  salutary  as  that  of  distilled  liquor  was 
expected  to  be  when  properly  used,  and  which  was 
designed  for  the  refreshment  and  comfort  of  the 
troops,  has  been  in  many  instances  productive  of 
very  ill  consequences. 

He  calls  the  attention  of  officers  of  every  grade  to 
remedy  these  abuses,  and  to  watch  over  the  health 
of  their  men;  for  which  purpose  he  suggests  the  ex 
pedient  of  keeping  liquor  rolls  in  every  corps,  from 
which  the  name  of  every  soldier  shall  be  struck  off 
who  addicts  himself  to  drunkenness,  or  injures  his 
constitution  by  intemperance. 

Such  soldiers  as  are  struck  off  are  not  to  draw 
liquor  on  any  occasion,  but  are  to  receive  other  arti 
cles  in  lieu  thereof.  The  Quartermasters,  upon  re- 
1782]  isg  IA«e  50 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

ceiving  commuted  articles,  are  to  receipt  for  the  full 
amount  of  rations  included  in  the  returns,  that  there 
may  be  no  irregularity  in  the  returns.  The  evil 
practice  of  swallowing  the  whole  ration  of  liquor  at  a 
single  draught  is  also  to  be  prevented,  by  causing  the 
sergeants  to  see  it  duly  distributed  daily,  and  mixed 
with  water  at  stated  times;  in  which  case,  instead  of 
being  pernicious,  it  will  become  very  refreshing  and 
salutary.  An  object  so  essential  to  the  health  of 
the  men  ought  not  only  to  be  superintended  by  the 
officers  of  police,  but  to  be  deemed  worthy  to  attract 
the  attention  of  every  officer  who  is  anxious  for  the 
reputation  of  the  corps  to  which  he  belongs,  the  wel 
fare  of  individuals,  and  the  good  of  the  service.  But 
it  rests  principally  with  the  commandants  of  corps 
to  have  so  useful  a  regulation  carried  effectually  into 
execution,  as  well  as  to  observe  cleanliness  and  econ 
omy  and  good  order  within  the  spheres  of  their 
respective  commands. 

Major-General  Heath  will  be  pleased  to  settle 
with  the  brigadiers  and  commanding  officers  of 
brigades,  the  quantity  of  liquor  proper  to  be  drawn 
in  kind  by  the  troops;  after  which,  he  is  authorized 
to  commute,  by  agreement  with  the  contractors,  the 
rations  of  whiskey,  or  such  proportion  of  them,  as 
may  be  judged  necessary,  for  vegetables  or  other 
articles,  agreeably  to  the  prices  fixed  in  the  contract 
to  the  component  parts  of  a  ration.167 

NOT  WAITING  FOR  MIRACLES 
In  a  "Circular  to  the  States,"  dated  Philadel- 

Age  50]  137  I1782 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

phia,  January  31,  1782,  addressed  to  Meshech 
Weare,  President  of  New  Hampshire,  occur  the 
following  sentiments: 

Although  we  cannot,  by  the  best  concerted  plans, 
absolutely  command  success;  although  the  race  is 
not  always  to  the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong; 
yet,  without  presumptuously  waiting  for  miracles 
to  be  wrought  in  our  favor,  it  is  our  indispensable 
duty,  with  the  deepest  gratitude  to  Heaven  for  the 
past,  and  humble  confidence  in  its  smiles  on  our 
future  operations,  to  make  use  of  all  the  means  in  our 
power  for  our  defense  and  security.168 

DIVINE  SERVICE  EVERY  SUNDAY 
While  encamped  at  Newburgh,  New  York,  he 
gave  the  following  order,  Saturday,  February 
15,  1783: 

The  New  Building  being  so  far  finished  as  to  admit 
the  troops  to  attend  public  worship  therein,  after 
to-morrow  it  is  directed  that  divine  service  should  be 
performed  there  every  Sunday  by  the  several  chap 
lains  of  the  New  Windsor  Cantonment  in  rotation.169 

COMMENDS  THE  CHAPLAINS 
March  22,  1783,  in  the  Orderly  Book,  New- 
burgh,  New  York,  appears  the  following: 

In  justice  to  the  zeal  and  ability  of  the  Chaplains, 
as  well  as  to  his  own  feelings,  the  Commander-in- 
Chief  thinks  it  a  duty  to  declare  that  the  regularity 
1783]  138  [Age  51 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

and  decorum  with  which  Divine  Service  is  per 
formed  every  Sunday,  will  reflect  great  credit  on  the 
army  in  general,  tend  to  improve  the  morals,  and  the 
same  time  increase  the  happiness  of  the  soldiery,  and 
must  afford  the  most  pure,  rational  entertainments 
for  every  serious  and  well-disposed  mind.170 

REGARD  FOR  CLERGY 

"The  high  respect  in  which  the  clergy  of  the 
American  army  was  held  by  Washington  was 
known  to  every  officer  and  soldier  in  the  ranks."171 

THANKSGIVING  IN  THE  ARMY  ORDERED 
April  18,  1783,  on  proclaiming  to  the  army  the 
cessation  of  hostilities,  at  the  end  of  the  war,  he 
said  in  the  general  orders: 

The  proclamation,  which  will  be  communicated 
herewith,  will  be  read  tomorrow  evening  at  the  head 
of  every  regiment  and  corps  in  the  army;  after  which 
the  chaplains  with  the  several  brigades  will  render 
thanks  to  Almighty  God  for  all  his  mercies,  particu 
larly  for  his  overruling  the  wrath  of  man  to  his  own 
glory,  and  causing  the  rage  of  war  to  cease  among  the 
nations.172 

VALEDICTORY  MESSAGE  TO  THE  GOVERNORS  OF 

THE  STATES 

From  his  Headquarters  at  Newburgh,  New 
York,  Sunday,  June  8,  1783,  General  Washing 
ton  issued  a  circular  letter  on  disbanding  the 
army,  which  was  addressed  to  the  governors  of 
Age  si]  139  t1783 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

all  the   States.     The  following  extracts  show 
his  deep  religious  sentiments: 

When  we  consider  the  magnitude  of  the  prize  we 
contended  for,  the  doubtful  nature  of  the  contest, 
and  the  favorable  manner  in  which  it  has  terminated, 
we  shall  find  the  greatest  possible  reason  for  grati 
tude  and  rejoicing.  This  is  a  theme  that  will  afford 
infinite  delight  to  every  benevolent  and  liberal  mind, 
whether  the  event  in  contemplation  be  considered 
as  the  source  of  present  enjoyment  or  the  parent  of 
future  happiness;  and  we  shall  have  equal  occasion 
to  felicitate  ourselves  on  the  lot  which  Providence 
has  assigned  us,  whether  we  view  it  in  a  natural,  a 
political,  or  moral  point  of  light.  .  .  . 

They  [the  citizens  of  America]  are  from  this  period 
to  be  considered  as  the  actors  on  a  most  conspicuous 
theatre,  which  seems  to  be  peculiarly  designated  by 
Providence  for  the  display  of  human  greatness  and 
felicity.  Here  they  are  not  only  surrounded  with 
everything,  which  can  contribute  to  the  completion 
of  private  and  domestic  enjoyment,  but  Heaven  has 
crowned  all  its  other  blessings,  by  giving  a  fairer 
opportunity  for  political  happiness,  than  any  other 
nation  has  ever  been  favored  with.  .  .  .  The  free 
cultivation  of  letters,  the  unbounded  extension  of 
commerce,  the  progressive  refinement  of  manners, 
the  growing  liberality  of  sentiment  and,  above  all, 
the  pure  and  benign  light  of  Revelation,  have  had  a 
meliorating  influence  on  mankind  and  increased  the 
blessings  of  society. 

1788]  140  [Age  51 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

It  remains,  then,  to  be  my  final  and  only  request, 
that  your  Excellency  will  communicate  these  senti 
ments  to  your  Legislature  at  their  next  meeting,  and 
that  they  may  be  considered  as  the  legacy  of  one  who 
has  ardently  wished,  on  all  occasions,  to  be  useful  to 
his  country,  and  who,  even  in  the  shade  of  retirement, 
will  not  fail  to  implore  the  Divine  benediction  upon 
it.  I  now  make  it  my  earnest  prayer,  that  God 
would  have  you  and  the  State  over  which  you  pre-  / 

side,  in  his  Holy  protection;  that  He  would  incline 
the  hearts  of  the  citizens  to  cultivate  a  spirit  of  sub 
ordination  and  obedience  to  government;  to  entertain 
a  brotherly  affection  and  love  for  one  another,  for  their 
fellow  citizens  of  the  United  States  at  large,  and  par 
ticularly  for  their  brethren  who  have  served  in  the 
field;  and  finally,  that  He  would  most  graciously  be 
pleased  to  dispose  us  all  to  do  justice,  to  love  mercy, 
and  to  demean  ourselves  with  that  charity,  humility, 
and  pacific  temper  of  mind,  which  are  the  character 
istics  of  theTHvine  Author  of  our  blessed  religion,  and 
without  an  humble  imitation  of  whose  example  in  these 
things  we  can  never  hope  to  be  a  happy  nation.173 

THANKS  GOD 

Washington  never  failed  to  render  thanks 
unto  God  for  his  guidance.  August  26,  1783, 
he  appeared  before  Congress,  in  session  at 
Princeton,  New  Jersey.  General  Washington 
entered  the  hall  of  Congress,  and  a  brief  address 
was  made  to  him  by  the  President.  In  his  re 
sponse  General  Washington  said: 

Age  51]  141  [1783 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Notwithstanding  Congress  seems  to  estimate  the 
value  of  my  life  beyond  any  services  I  have  been  able 
to  render  the  United  States,  yet  I  must  be  per 
mitted  to  consider  the  wisdom  and  unanimity  of 
our  national  councils,  the  firmness  of  our  citizens, 
and  the  patience  and  bravery  of  our  troops,  who 
have  produced  so  happy  a  termination  of  the  war, 
as  the  most  conspicuous  effect  of  the  Divine  inter 
position,  and  the  surest  presage  of  our  future  hap 
piness.  .  .  . 

Perhaps,  sir,  no  occasion  may  offer  more  suitable 
than  the  present  to  express  my  humble  thanks  to 
God,  and  my  grateful  acknowledgments  to  my 
country,  for  the  great  and  uniform  support  I  have 
received  in  every  vicissitude  and  fortune,  and  for 
the  many  distinguished  honors  which  Congress  has 
been  pleased  to  confer  upon  me  in  the  course  of  the 
war.174 

UNDER  THE  CONTROL  OF  PROVIDENCE 
During  the  war  Washington  established  head 
quarters  at  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty  houses, 
which  in  eight  years  averages  about  twelve  days 
to  a  house.  He  longed  to  retire  to  his  home  and 
private  life.  Addressing  sundry  individuals  and 
bodies  of  men,  near  the  close  of  the  war,  he  uses 
the  following  language: 

I  anticipate  with  pleasure  the  day,  and  that  I 
trust  not  far  off,  when  I  shall  quit  the  busy  scenes  of 
a  military  employment  and  retire  to  the  more  tran- 
1783]  14$  [Age  51 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

quil  walks  of  domestic  life.  In  that,  or  whatever 
other  situation  Providence  may  dispose  my  future 
days,  the  remembrance  of  the  many  friendships  and 
connections  I  have  had  the  happiness  to  contract  with 
the  gentlemen  of  the  army,  will  be  one  of  my  most 
grateful  reflections.  Under  this  contemplation,  and 
impressed  with  the  sentiments  of  benevolence  and 
regard,!  commend  you,  my  dear  sir,  my  other  friends, 
and  with  them  the  interest  and  happiness  of  our  dear 
country,  to  the  keeping  and  protection  of  Almighty 
God.178 

THANKSGIVING  FOR  TREATY  OF  PEACE 
October  31,  1783,  General  and  Mrs.  Washing 
ton,  and  many  other  distinguished  people, 
attended  the  services  in  Princeton  College  Chap 
el,  in  celebration  and  thanksgiving  for  the  sign 
ing  at.  Versailles,  September  3,  of  the  "Defini 
tive  Treaty  of  Peace"  between  the  United  States 
and  Great  Britain.  "The  official  Proclamation 
of  Peace  was  the  signal  for  rejoicing  that  beggars 
description."176 

MILITARY  FAREWELL  ADDRESS 
In  his  farewell  address  to  the  armies  of  the 
United  States  at  Rock  Hill,  near  Princeton,  New 
Jersey,  November,  1783,  he  does  not  fail  to 
express  again  in  unmistakable  terms  his  recog 
nition  of  divine  guidance  and  help: 

The  singular  interpositions  of  Providence  in  our 

Age  51]  143  [1783 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

feeble  conditions  were  such  as  could  scarcely  escape 
the  attention  of  the  most  observing. 

And  being  now  to  conclude  these  his  last  orders,  to 
take  his  [Washington's]  ultimate  leave  in  a  short  time 
of  the  military  character,  and  to  bid  a  final  adieu  to 
the  armies  he  has  so  long  had  the  honor  to  command, 
he  can  only  again  offer  in  their  behalf  his  recommen 
dations  to  their  grateful  country,  and  his  prayers  to 
the  God  of  armies.  May  ample  justice  be  done 
them  here,  and  may  the  choicest  of  Heaven's  favors, 
both  here  and  hereafter,  attend  those  who,  under 
Divine  auspices,  have  secured  innumerable  blessings 
for  others.  With  these  wishes  and  this  benediction, 
the  Commander-in-chief  is  about  to  retire  from  serv 
ice.  The  curtain  of  separation  will  soon  be  drawn, 
and  the  military  scene  to  him  will  be  closed  for- 


THANKSGIVING  FOR  END  OF  WAR 
December  11,  1783,  General  and  Mrs.  Wash 
ington,  at  Philadelphia,  took  part  in  the  service 
of  thanksgiving  which  had  been  recommended 
by  Congress  on  the  eighteenth  of  October,  to 
be  observed  upon  the  ending  of  the  great 
struggle.178 

RESIGNS  His  COMMISSION 
In  his  address  to  Congress  on  resigning  his 
commission  at  Annapolis,  Maryland,  December 
23,  1783,  his  last  official  act  as  Commander-in- 

1783]  144  [Age  51 


DIVINE  PROVIDENCE 

chief,  once  more  he  acknowledges  the  guidance 
and  protection  of  Providence: 

Happy  in  the  confirmation  of  our  independence 
and  sovereignty,  and  pleased  with  the  opportunity 
offered  the  United  States  of  becoming  a  respectable 
nation,  I  resign  with  satisfaction  the  appointment  I 
accepted  with  diffidence,  a  diffidence  in  my  abilities 
to  accomplish  so  arduous  a  task,  which,  however, 
was  superseded  by  a  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of 
our  cause,  the  support  of  the  supreme  power  of  the 
Union,  and  the  patronage  of  Heaven. 

The  successful  termination  of  the  war  has  verified 
the  most  sanguine  expectations;  and  my  gratitude  for 
the  interposition  of  Providence,  and  the  assistance  I 
have  received  from  my  countrymen,  increases  with 
every  review  of  the  momentous  contest. 

I  consider  it  an  indispensable  duty  to  close  this 
last  solemn  act  of  my  official  life,  by  commending  the 
interests  of  our  dearest  country  to  the  protection  of 
Almighty  God,  and  those  who  have  the  superinten 
dence  of  them  to  His  holy  keeping.179 


Age  51]  145  [1783 


CHAPTER  XI 
CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

CHRISTMAS  AT  CHURCH 
DURING  the  eight  years  of  the  war  Washington 
visited  Mount  Vernon  only  twice.  The  first 
was  on  Sunday,  the  9th  of  September,  1781,  on 
his  way  south  for  the  campaign  against  Corn- 
wallis.  After  an  absence  of  six  years  he  re 
mained  only  three  days,  leaving  on  the  12th. 
The  other  time  was  after  the  surrender  of  Corn- 
wallis,  stopping  for  a  week  on  his  way  north 
again.  Immediately  after  resigning  his  com 
mission  as  Commander-in-chief  he  returns  to 
Mount  Vernon,  arriving  on  Christmas  Eve, 
Wednesday,  December  24,  1783.  The  next  day 
he  attends  church  at  Alexandria,  in  the  Episco 
pal  church,  where  he  owned  a  pew,  purchased 
ten  years  before,  "and  no  one  bowed  in  deeper 
gratitude  than  the  great  general,  who  came  as 
humbly  as  a  little  child  to  this,  his  Father's 
house.  In  addition  to  the  Christmas  service, 
the  rector,  the  Reverend  David  Griffith,  who 
served  as  chaplain  of  the  Third  Virginia  Regi 
ment  in  the  Revolutionay  war,  read  the  exultant 
song  of  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel:  'I  will 

1783]  14,6  IA8e  51 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

sing  unto  the  Lord,  for  he  hath  triumphed  glo 
riously:  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he  thrown 
into  the  sea';  and  the  sermon  he  preached  was 
from  the  128th  Psalm:  'Yea,  thou  shalt  see  thy 
children's  children  and  peace  upon  Israel.'  "18° 

SUPPORTING  THE  MINISTRY 
The  following  interesting  document  will  fur 
nish  very  striking  proof  of  his  unfeigned  desire 
for  the  respectable  support  of  the  Christian  min 
istry,  and  perpetual  maintenance  of  religious  in 
stitutions  and  services.  The  design  of  the  paper 
was,  as  the  reader  will  observe,  to  subject  the 
pews  of  the  church  to  an  annual  rent,  by  a  vol 
untary  subscription  thereto  on  the  part  of  the 
pewholders.  Its  language  is: 

"We,  the  subscribers,  do  hereby  agree  that  the 
pews  we  now  hold  in  the  Episcopal  church  at 
Alexandria,  shall  be  forever  charged  with  an 
annual  rent  of  five  pounds,  Virginia  money,  each; 
and  we  hereby  promise  to  pay  (each  for  himself 
separately  promising  to  pay),  annually,  for 
ever,  to  the  minister  and  vestry  of  the  Protes 
tant  Episcopal  Church  in  Fairfax  parish;  or,  if 
the  parish  should  be  divided,  to  the  minister  and 
vestry  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
Alexandria,  the  said  sum  of  five  pounds  for  each 
pew,  for  the  purpose  of  supporting  the  ministry 
in  the  said  church:  Provided,  nevertheless,  that 

Age  53]  14,7  [1785 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

if  any  law  of  this  Commonwealth  should  here 
after  compel  us,  our  heirs,  executors,  adminis 
trators,  or  assigns,  to  pay  to  the  support  of  re 
ligion,  the  pew  rent  hereby  granted,  shall,  in  that 
case,  be  considered  as  part  of  what  we  may  by 
such  law  be  required  to  pay  :  Provided,  also,  that 
each  of  us  pay  only  in  proportion  to  the  part  we 
hold  of  the  said  pews.  For  the  performance  of 
which  payment,  well  and  truly  to  be  made,  for 
ever,  annually,  within  six  months  after  demanded, 
we  hereby  bind  ourselves  (each  for  himself  separ 
ately),  our  heirs,  executors,  administrators,  and  as 
signs,  firmly  by  these  presents.  In  witness  where 
of,  we  have  hereunto  set  our  hands  and  seals,  this 
25th  day  of  April,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1785." 

The  above  is  an  attested  copy  of  the  original, 
now  on  record  in  the  vestry  book  of  Christ 
Church,  Alexandria.  The  article  was  signed  by 
a  number  of  the  pewholders,  the  name  of  "G. 
Washington"  being  at  the  head  of  the  list,  in  his 
own  handwriting,  with  the  seal  attached.181 

MEMBER  OF  CHURCH 

His  adopted  son  says,  "Washington  was  a 
member  in  full  communion  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church."182 

FAMILY  PRAYERS 
"Washington  had  prayers  morning  and  evening 


1785]  148  IA8e  53 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

and  was  regular  in  attendance  at  the  church  in 
which  he  was  a  communicant."183 

How  HE  SPENT  SUNDAY 
"Every  Sunday  morning  the  family  went  to 
church  (when  the  weather  and  the  roads  per 
mitted  a  ride  of  ten  miles),  and  in  the  evening, 
the  general  read  a  sermon,  or  something  else 
appropriate  to  the  day,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
household."184 

His  adopted  son  says:  "Washington  was  a 
strict  and  decorous  observer  of  the  Sabbath. 
He  always  attended  divine  service  in  the  morn 
ing  and  read  a  sermon  or  some  portion  of  the 
Bible  to  Mrs.  Washington  in  the  afternoon."185 

DOES  NOT  FORGET  FALLS  CHURCH 
"Mr.  John  Lynch,  now  an  old  man,  who  once 
served  the  Falls  Church  as  sexton  for  over  forty 
years,  told  the  writer  that  in  his  younger  days 
he  learned  from  a  number  of  aged  persons 
that  it  was  Washington's  custom,  while  giving 
his  regular  attendance  to  Christ  Church,  Alex 
andria,  also  to  visit  and  worship  at  the  Falls 
Church  at  least  four  times  a  year,  this  being  part 
of  his  parish.  The  particular  pew  and  place  in 
church  he  usually  occupied  were  said  to  have 
been  marked  and  kept  for  him.  .  .  . 

"Several  residents  of  this  village  now  living, 
149 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

whose  mother,  Mrs.  Sarah  Maria  Sewell,  died 
many  years  since  at  the  age  of  ninety-seven, 
still  delight  and  repeat  her  description  of  the 
great  hero,  whom  in  her  childhood  she  had  seen 
worshiping  in  this  church.  She  remembered 
also  his  dining  occasionally  at  her  home  near  the 
church,  and  his  taking  her  up  in  his  arms  and 
playfully  caressing  her."186 

DISPENSER  OF  HUMAN  EVENTS 
In  a  letter  to  Major-General  Knox,  written 
from  Mount  Vernon,  February  20, 1784,  he  says: 

I  feel  now,  however,  as  I  conceive  a  wearied 
traveler  must  do  who,  after  treading  many  a  painful 
step  with  a  heavy  burden  on  his  shoulders,  is  eased 
of  the  latter,  having  reached  the  haven  to  which  all 
the  former  were  directed;  and  from  his  housetop  is 
looking  back,  and  tracing  with  an  eager  eye  the 
meanders  by  which  he  escaped  the  quicksands  and 
mires  which  lay  in  his  way;  into  which  none  but 
the  all-powerful  Guide  and  Dispenser  of  human 
events  could  have  prevented  his  falling.187 

ENTERTAINS  MINISTERS 
In  his  diary  is  the  following  entry: 

1785.  Sunday,  October  2— Went  with  Fanny 
Bassett,  Burwell  Bassett,  Doctor  Stuart,  G.  A. 
Washington,  Mr.  Shaw  &  Nelly  Custis  to  the  Pohick 
Church;  to  hear  a  Mr.  Thompson  preach,  who 
1784]  150  [Age  52 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

returned  home  with  us  to  dinner,  where  I  found 
Reverend  Mr.  Jones  [David  Jones  of  Chester  Co., 
Pa.],  formerly  a  chaplain  in  one  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Regiments.188 

WANTS  SLAVERY  ABOLISHED 
In  a  letter  to  John  F.  Mercer,  September  9, 
1786,  written  from  Mount  Vernon,  he  says: 

I  never  mean,  unless  some  particular  circum 
stances  should  compel  it,  to  possess  another  slave  by 
purchase,  it  being  among  my  first  wishes  to  see  some 
plan  adopted,  by  which  slavery  in  this  country  may 
be  abolished  by  law.189 

POHICK  CHURCH  AGAIN 
He  writes  in  his  diary,  Sunday,  October  15, 
1786,  "Accompanied  by  Major  Washington,  his 
wife — Mr.  Lear  and  the  two  children  Nelly  and 
Washington  Custis — went  to  Pohick  Church  and 
returned  to  dinner."190 

THE  REV.  MASON  L.  WEEMS  AT  MOUNT 
VERNON 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Weems,  author  of  the  cherry  tree  and 
hatchet  story,  never  met  Washington,  but  in 
this  they  are  mistaken.  After  the  Revolution, 
Mr.  Weems  preached  at  Pohick  Church.  Wash 
ington's  diary  records  that  he  attended  church 
there  several  times  during  this  period,  at  which 
time,  no  doubt,  Mr.  Weems  was  the  preacher. 

Age  54]  151  [1786 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

On  one  occasion  at  least,  Mr.  Weems  was  enter 
tained  at  Mount  Vernon,  of  which  the  following 
entry  in  Washington's  diary  is  indisputable  evi 
dence:  "Saturday,  March  3,  1787— The  Rev. 
Mr.  Weems  and  ye  Doctor  Craik  who  came  here 
yesterday  in  the  afternoon  left  about  noon  for 
Port  Tobacco  [Maryland]."191 

PRESIDENT  OF  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION 

May  25, 1787,  Washington  was  elected  "Presi 
dent  of  the  Constitutional  Convention,"  which 
met  in  Philadelphia.  When  he  took  the  chair, 
he  said,  "Let  us  raise  the  standard  to  which  the 
wise  and  honest  can  repair;  the  event  is  in  the 
hands  of  God."192 

GOES  TO  CHURCH 

From  the  following  entries  in  his  diary  we 
learn  that  during  the  convention  he  did  not 
neglect  attendance  at  church: 

1787.  May  26  [Saturday]— Went  to  the  Romish 
Church  to  high  mass.193 

Sunday,  June  17,  Went  to  [Christ]  Church- 
heard  Bishop  White  preach,  and  see  him  ordain  two 
gentlemen  Deacons.194 

PRAYER  FOR  CONTINUED  PROTECTION  OF 

PROVIDENCE 

In  a  letter  to  Jonathan  Trumbull,  written 
from  Mount  Vernon,  July  20,  1787,  he  says: 

1787]  152  [Age  55 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

Your  friend  Colonel  Humphreys  informs  me,  from 
the  wonderful  revolution  of  sentiment  in  favor  of 
federal  measures,  and  the  marvelous  change  for  the 
better  in  the  elections  of  the  State,  that  he  shall  be 
gin  to  suspect  that  miracles  have  not  ceased.  In 
deed,  for  myself,  since  so  much  liberality  has  been 
displayed  in  the  construction  and  adoption  of  the 
proposed  general  government,  I  am  almost  disposed 
to  be  of  the  same  opinion.  Or  at  least  we  may, 
with  a  kind  of  pious  and  grateful  exultation,  trace 
the  ringers  of  Providence  through  those  dark  and 
mysterious  events  which  first  induced  the  States  to 
appoint  a  general  convention,  and  then  led  them  one 
after  another,  by  such  steps  as  were  best  calculated 
to  effect  the  object  into  an  adoption  of  the  system 
recommended  by  that  general  convention;  thereby 
in  all  human  probability  laying  a  lasting  foundation 
for  tranquillity  and  happiness,  when  we  had  but  too 
much  reason  to  fear  that  confusion  and  misery  were 
coming  rapidly  upon  us.  That  the  same  good  Provi 
dence  may  still  continue  to  protect  us,  and  prevent 
us  from  dashing  the  cup  of  national  felicity,  just  as  it 
has  been  lifted  to  our  lips,  is  the  earnest  prayer  of, 
my  dear  sir,  your  faithful  friend,  etc.,  etc.195 

TOLERATION  IN  RELIGION 
In   a  letter   to   the  Marquis   de   Lafayette, 
written  from  Philadelphia,  August  15,  1787,  he 
says: 

I  am  not  less  ardent  in  my  wish  that  you  may 
succeed  in  your  plan  of  toleration  in  religious  matters. 
Age  55]  153  [1787 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Being  no  bigot  myself  to  any  mode  of  worship,  I  am 
disposed  to  indulge  the  professors  of  Christianity  in 
the  church  with  that  road  to  Heaven  which  to  them 
shall  seem  the  most  direct,  plainest  and  easiest,  and 
the  least  liable  to  exception.196 

GOES  TO  POHICK  CHURCH 
Although  an  attendant  at  the  Episcopal 
church  at  Alexandria,  we  learn  from  an  occa 
sional  entry  in  his  diary  that  he  did  not  lose  in 
terest  in  the  old  church  at  Pohick:  "Sunday, 
October  28  [1787]— Went  to  Pohick  church- 
Mr.  Lear  and  Washington  Custis  in  the  carriage 
with  me."197 

CHURCH  AT  ALEXANDRIA 
We  know  from  the  diaries  of  some  of  his  con 
temporaries  that  Washington  did  not  note  in  his 
diary  every  time  he  attended  church,  nor  is  it 
clear  that  there  was  always  a  particular  reason 
for  mentioning  the  fact  of  going  to  church. 
However,  the  entries  are  very  interesting:  "Sun 
day,  April  13  [1788] — Went  to  church  at  Alex 
andria,  accompanied  by  Col.  Humphrey,  Mr. 
Lear  and  Washington  Custis.5'198 

PANIC  IN  CHURCH 

While  visiting  his  mother  at  Fredericksburg, 
Virginia,  he  attends  the  village  church.  The 
people,  knowing  he  was  to  be  there,  crowded 

1788]  154  [Age  56 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

into  the  church  until  it  seemed  that  the  floor 
would  give  way.  In  his  diary  we  find  this 
record  for  Sunday,  June  15,  1788 : 

On  Sunday  we  went  to  church — the  congregation 
being  alarmed  (without  cause)  and  supposing  the 
gallery  at  the  north  end  was  about  to  fall,  were 
thrown  into  the  utmost  confusion;  and  in  the  precip 
itate  retreat  to  the  doors  many  got  hurt.199 

OMNIPOTENT  BEING  NEVER  DESERTED 

AMERICA 

Writing  from  Mount  Vernon  to  James  Mc- 
Henry,  July  31,  1788,  he  says  in  closing:  "I 
earnestly  pray  that  the  Omnipotent  Being,  who 
has  not  deserted  the  cause  of  America  in  the 
hour  of  its  extremest  hazard,  may  never  yield  so 
fair  a  heritage  of  freedom  a  prey  to  anarchy  or 
despotism."200 

AN  HONEST  MAN 

Writing  to  Alexander  Hamilton  from  Mount 
Vernon,  August  28,  1788,  he  closes  with  this: 
"Still  I  hope  I  shall  always  possess  firmness  and 
virtue  enough  to  maintain  what  I  consider  the 
most  enviable  of  all  titles,  the  character  of  an 
honest  man."201 

RIGHT  vs.  POPULARITY 
In  a  letter  to  Henry  Lee,  in  Congress,  written 

Age  56]  155  [1788 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

from  Mount  Vernon,  September  22,  1788,  in 
reply  to  a  letter  urging  him  to  accept  the  presi 
dency,  he  says: 

Nor  will  you  conceive  me  to  be  solicitous  for  repu 
tation.  Though  I  prize  as  I  ought  the  good  opinion 
of  my  fellow  citizens,  yet,  if  I  know  myself,  I  would 
not  seek  to  retain  popularity  at  the  expense  of  one 
social  duty  or  moral  virtue. 

While  doing  what  my  conscience  informed  me  was 
right,  as  it  respected  my  God,  my  country,  and  my 
self,  I  could  despise  all  the  party  clamor  and  unjust 
censure  which  might  be  expected  from  some  whose 
personal  enmity  might  be  occasioned  by  their  hos 
tility  to  the  government.202 

GOES  TO  POHICK  CHURCH  AGAIN 
In  his  diary  for  Sunday,  October  26,  1788,  he 
writes:  "Went  to  Pohick  Church  and  returned 
home  to  dinner."203 

His  LAST  VISIT  TO  His  MOTHER 
Just  before  his  departure  for  New  York  to 
take  the  oath  of  office,  and  to  enter  upon  his  new 
duties,  Washington,  actuated  by  that  filial  rev 
erence  and  regard  which  always  distinguished 
him,  hastened  to  Fredericksburg  to  visit  his 
mother.  She  was  then  four  score  and  two  years 
old,  bowed  with  age  and  the  ravages  of  that 
terrible  disease,  a  deep-rooted  cancer  in  the 
breast.  Their  interview  was  deeply  affecting. 

1788]  156  lA8e  56 


WASHINGTON  AND  HIS  MOTHER 

By  courtesy  of  Mr.  Henry  F.  Scheetz,  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
owner  of  original  steel  engraving. 


CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  AT  HOME 

After  the  first  emotions  incident  to  the  meeting 
had  subsided,  Washington  said:  "The  people, 
Madam,  have  been  pleased,  with  the  most  flat 
tering  unanimity,  to  elect  me  to  the  chief  magis 
tracy  of  these  United  States;  but  before  I  can 
assume  the  functions  of  my  office,  I  have  come 
to  bid  you  an  affectionate  farewell.  So  soon  as 
the  public  business,  which  must  necessarily  be 
encountered  in  arranging  a  new  government,  can 
be  disposed  of,  I  shall  hasten  to  Virginia,  and— 

Here  the  matron  interrupted  him  with,  "And 
you  will  see  me  no  more.  My  great  age,  and 
the  disease  which  is  fast  approaching  my  vitals, 
warn  me  that  I  shall  not  be  long  in  this  world. 
I  trust  in  God  that  I  may  be  somewhat  pre 
pared  for  a  better.  But  go,  George,  fulfill  the 
high  destinies  which  Heaven  appears  to  have 
intended  you  for;  go,  my  son,  and  may  that 
Heaven's  and  a  mother's  blessing  be  with  you 
always." 

Washington  wept.  His  head  rested  upon 
the  shoulder  of  his  mother,  whose  aged  arm 
feebly,  yet  fondly  encircled  his  neck.  The  great 
man  was  again  a  little  child,  and  he  kissed  the 
furrowed  cheek  of  his  parent  with  all  the  tender 
affection  and  simplicity  of  a  loving  boy.  With 
full  heart  he  went  forth  to  "fulfill  the  destiny" 
which  heaven  assigned  him,  and  he  saw  his 
mother  no  more.204 

Age  57]  157  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

TAKES  No  CREDIT  TO  HIMSELF 

In  an  address  to  mayor,  recorder,  aldermen 
and  Common  Council  of  the  city  of  Philadel 
phia,  at  a  great  civic  banquet,  April  20,  1789,  in 
reply  to  a  congratulatory  address  on  his  election 
to  be  President,  he  says: 

When  I  contemplate  the  interposition  of  Provi 
dence,  as  it  was  manifested  in  guiding  us  through  the 
Revolution,  in  preparing  us  for  the  reception  of  a 
general  government,  and  in  conciliating  the  good  will 
of  the  people  of  America  towards  one  another  after 
its  adoption,  I  feel  myself  oppressed  and  almost 
overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  the  divine  munificence. 
I  feel  that  nothing  is  due  to  my  personal  agency  in 
all  these  complicated  and  wonderful  events,  except 
what  can  simply  be  attributed  to  the  exertions  of  an 
honest  zeal  for  the  good  of  my  country. 

If  I  have  distressing  apprehensions,  that  I  shall  not 
be  able  to  justify  the  too  exalted  expectations  of 
my  countrymen,  I  am  supported  under  the  pressure 
of  such  uneasy  reflections  by  a  confidence  that  the 
most  gracious  Being,  who  has  hitherto  watched  over 
the  interests  and  averted  the  perils  of  the  United 
States,  will  never  suffer  so  fair  an  inheritance  to  be 
come  a  prey  to  anarchy,  despotism,  or  any  other 
species  of  oppression.205 


1789]  158  [Age  57 


CHAPTER  XII 
A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

INAUGURATION 

THURSDAY,  April  30,  1789,  was  the  day  of  in 
auguration.  At  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning, 
religious  services  were  held  in  the  churches,  and 
God's  blessing  invoked  in  behalf  of  the  new  gov 
ernment.  At  twelve,  the  President-elect  moved 
in  procession  to  Federal  Hall,  in  Wall  Street, 
where  the  United  States  Sub-Treasury  Building, 
formerly  the  customhouse,  now  stands,  and  was 
received  at  the  door  and  conducted  to  the  chair 
by  Mr.  Adams,  the  Vice-President.  A  solemn 
silence  prevailed  when  Mr.  Adams  rose  and  in 
formed  him  that  all  things  were  prepared  for 
him  to  take  the  oath  of  office  required  by  the 
constitution.  Washington  then  proceeded  to  a 
balcony  in  front  of  the  senate  chamber,  in  view 
of  an  immense  crowd  of  people,  who  hailed  him 
with  loud  applause.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  his 
heart,  and  having  bowed  several  times,  he  took 
his  seat  in  an  armchair,  near  a  table  covered 
with  crimson  velvet,  on  which  a  superbly  bound 
Bible  had  been  placed. 

Washington  was  dressed  in  a  full  suit  of  dark 

Age  57]  159 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

brown  cloth,  with  white  silk  stockings,  all  of 
American  manufacture,  silver  shoe-buckles,  his 
hair  tied  and  powdered,  and  a  steel-hilted  dress 
sword  by  his  side. 

After  a  few  moments  he  rose  and  came  for 
ward  to  the  front  of  the  balcony,  Mr.  Otis,  the 
secretary  of  state,  holding  up  the  Bible  on  its 
crimson  cushion. 

Chancellor  Livingston,  of  New  York,  ad 
ministered  the  oath,  which  was  read  slowly  and 
distinctly,  Washington  laying  his  hand  on  the 
open  Bible,  and  at  the  conclusion,  answering 
with  great  solemnity,  "I  swear — so  help  me 
God!"  He  then  bowed  down  reverently  and 
kissed  the  Bible. 

The  chancellor  now  stepped  forward,  waved 
his  hand,  and  said,  "Long  live  George  Wash 
ington,  President  of  the  United  States." 

The  crowds  below  sent  up  a  loud  shout  of 
joy,  while  the  merry  peal  of  church  bells  and 
the  roar  of  artillery  spread  the  news  abroad, 
that  the  birth  of  a  new  nation  was  accom 
plished. 

Returning  to  the  senate  chamber,  the  Presi 
dent  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  and  then 
proceeded  with  the  whole  assembly  on  foot  to 
Saint  Paul's  Church,  where  divine  service  was 
celebrated  by  Mr.  Samuel  Provoost,  Bishop  of 
the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  New  York, 

1789] 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

who  had  been  appointed  by  the  Senate  one  of  the 
chaplains  of  Congress.206 

FIRST  INAUGURAL  ADDRESS 

The  first  inaugural  address  was  delivered  to 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  April  30,  1789.  It 
was  in  part  as  follows: 

Such  being  the  impressions  under  which  I  have,  in 
obedience  to  the  public  summons,  repaired  to  the 
present  station,  it  would  be  peculiarly  improper  to 
omit,  in  this  first  official  act,  my  fervent  supplica 
tions  to  that  Almighty  Being,  who  rules  over  the 
universe,  who  presides  in  the  councils  of  nations,  and 
whose  providential  aids  can  supply  every  human  de 
fect,  that  His  benediction  may  consecrate  to  the 
liberties  and  happiness  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  a  government  instituted  by  themselves  for 
these  essential  purposes  and  may  enable  every 
instrument  employed  in  its  administration  to 
execute  with  success  the  functions  allotted  to  his 
charge.  In  tendering  this  homage  to  the  great 
Author  of  every  public  and  private  good,  I  assure 
myself  that  it  expresses  your  sentiments  not  less  than 
my  own,  nor  those  of  my  fellow  citizens  at  large,  less 
than  either.  .  .  .  No  people  can  be  bound  to  acknowl 
edge  and  adore  the  invisible  hand  which  conducts  the 
affairs  of  men  more  than  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  Every  step  by  which  they  have  advanced 
to  the  character  of  an  independent  nation  seems  to 
have  been  distinguished  by  some  token  of  provi- 
Age57]  161  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

dential  agency.  .  .  .  These  reflections,  arising  out 
of  the  present  crisis,  have  forced  themselves  too 
strongly  on  my  mind  to  be  suppressed.  You  will 
join  with  me,  I  trust,  in  thinking  that  there  are  none, 
under  the  influence  of  which  the  proceedings  of  a 
new  and  free  government  can  more  auspiciously 
commence.  .  .  .  We  ought  to  be  no  less  persuaded 
that  the  propitious  smiles  of  Heaven  can  never  be 
expected  on  a  nation  that  disregards  the  eternal  rules 
of  order  and  right,  which  Heaven  itself  has  ordained. 
Having  thus  imparted  to  you  my  sentiments,  as  they 
have  been  awakened  by  the  occasion  which  brings 
us  together,  I  shall  take  my  present  leave;  but  not 
without  resorting  once  more  to  the  benign  Parent 
of  the  human  race,  in  humble  supplication  that, 
since  He  has  been  pleased  to  favor  the  American 
people  with  opportunities  for  deliberating  in  perfect 
tranquillity,  and  dispositions  for  deciding  with  un 
paralleled  unanimity  on  a  form  of  government  for 
the  security  of  their  union  and  the  advancement  of 
their  happiness,  so  His  divine  blessing  may  be 
equally  conspicuous  in  the  enlarged  views,  the  tem 
perate  consultations,  and  the  wise  measures,  on 
which  the  success  of  this  government  may  depend.207 

GRACE  AT  STATE  DINNER 
Mrs.  Washington  left  Mount  Vernon  for  New 
York  on  the  19th  of  May,  1789.  On  her  arrival 
the  President  gave  a  semi-official  dinner.  From 
one  who  was  present  (Mr.  Wingate)  we  have  the 
following  account : 

1789]  162  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

"The  guests  consisted  of  the  Vice-President, 
the  foreign  ministers,  the  heads  of  departments, 
the  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  the  senators  from  New  Hampshire  and 
Georgia,  the  then  most  Northern  and  Southern 
States.  It  was  the  least  showy  dinner  that  I 
ever  saw  at  the  President's  table,  and  the  com 
pany  was  not  large.  As  there  was  no  chaplain 
present,  the  President  himself  said  a  very  short 
grace  as  he  was  sitting  down."208 

ADDRESS  TO  METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

After  his  inauguration  many  formal  addresses 
were  sent  to  President  Washington  by  the  vari 
ous  religious  societies.  His  replies  form  an  illu 
minating  commentary  on  his  religious  character. 

The  following  address  was  delivered  to  the 
bishops  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States  in  May,  1789: 

Gentlemen  I  return  to  you  individually,  and 
through  you,  to  your  society  collectively  in  the 
United  States,  my  thanks  for  the  demonstrations  of 
affection  and  the  expressions  of  joy,  offered  in  their 
behalf,  on  my  late  appointment.  It  shall  still  be 
my  endeavor  to  manifest  by  overt  acts  the  purity  of 
my  inclinations  for  promoting  the  happiness  of  man 
kind,  as  well  as  the  sincerity  of  my  desires  to  con 
tribute  whatever  may  be  in  my  power  towards  the 
preservation  of  the  civil  and  religious  liberties  of  the 
Age  57]  1(53  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

American  people.  In  pursuing  this  line  of  conduct, 
I  hope,  by  the  assistance  of  Divine  Providence,  not 
altogether  to  disappoint  the  confidence  which  you 
have  been  pleased  to  repose  in  me. 

It  always  affords  me  satisfaction  when  I  find  a 
concurrence  in  sentiment  and  practice  between  all 
conscientious  men  in  acknowledgments  of  homage 
to  the  great  Governor  of  the  Universe,  and  in  pro 
fessions  of  support  to  a  just  civil  government.  After 
mentioning  that  I  trust  the  people  of  every  denomi 
nation  who  demean  themselves  as  good  citizens  will 
have  occasion  to  be  convinced  that  I  shall  always 
strive  to  prove  a  faithful  and  impartial  patron  of 
genuine,  vital  religion,  I  must  assure  you  in  particu 
lar,  that  I  take  in  the  kindest  part  the  promise  you 
make  of  presenting  your  prayers  at  the  throne  of 
grace  for  me,  and  that  I  likewise  implore  the  divine 
benediction  on  yourselves  and  your  religious  com 
munity.209 

ADDRESS  TO  BAPTIST  CHURCHES 
An   address   was   delivered  to    the   General 
Committee,    representing   the   United   Baptist 
Churches  in  Virginia,  in  May,  1789,  as  follows: 

Gentlemen:  I  request  that  you  will  accept  my  best 
acknowledgments  for  your  congratulation  on  my  ap 
pointment  to  the  first  office  in  the  nation.  The  kind 
manner  in  which  you  mention  my  past  conduct 
equally  claims  the  expression  of  my  gratitude. 

After  we  had,  by  the  smiles  of  Heaven  on  our  ex 
ertions,  obtained  the  object  for  which  we  contended, 
1789]  164  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

I  retired,  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war,  with  the  idea 
that  my  country  could  have  no  farther  occasion  for 
my  services,  and  with  the  intention  of  never  entering 
again  into  public  life;  but,  when  the  exigencies  of  my 
country  seemed  to  require  me  once  more  to  engage 
in  public  affairs,  an  honest  conviction  of  duty  super 
seded  my  former  resolution,  and  became  my  apology 
for  deviating  from  the  happy  plan  which  I  had 
adopted. 

If  I  could  have  entertained  the  slightest  appre 
hension  that  the  constitution  framed  in  the  con 
vention  where  I  had  the  honor  to  preside  might  pos 
sibly  endanger  the  religious  rights  of  any  ecclesias 
tical  society,  certainly  I  would  never  have  placed  my 
signature  to  it;  and,  if  I  could  now  conceive  that  the 
general  government  might  ever  be  so  administered 
as  to  render  the  liberty  of  conscience  insecure,  I  beg 
you  will  be  persuaded  that  no  one  would  be  more 
zealous  than  myself  to  establish  effectual  barriers 
against  the  horrors  of  spiritual  tyranny  and  every 
species  of  religious  persecution.  For  you  doubtless 
remember,  that  I  have  often  expressed  my  senti 
ments  that  every  man  conducting  himself  as  a  good 
citizen,  and  being  accountable  to  God  alone  for  his 
religious  opinions,  ought  to  be  protected  in  wor 
shiping  the  Deity  according  to  the  dictates  of  his  own 
conscience. 

While  I  recollect  with  satisfaction  that  the  reli 
gious  society  of  which  you  are  members  have  been, 
throughout  America,  uniformly  and  almost  unani 
mously  the  firm  friend  to  civil  liberty,  and  the  per- 
Age57]  165  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

severing  promoters  of  our  glorious  Revolution,  I  can 
not  hesitate  to  believe  that  they  will  be  the  faithful 
supporters  of  a  free,  yet  efficient  general  government. 
Under  this  pleasing  expectation  I  rejoice  to  assure 
them,  that  they  may  rely  on  my  best  wishes  and  en 
deavors  to  advance  their  prosperity. 

In  the  meantime,  be  assured,  Gentlemen,  that  I  en 
tertain  a  proper  sense  of  your  fervent  supplications 
to  God  for  my  temporal  and  eternal  happiness.210 

PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  SENDS  ADDRESS  TO 
WASHINGTON 

The  first  meeting  of  the  "General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  U.  S.  A.," 
adopted  an  address  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  on  the  26th  of  May,  1789,  and 
who,  no  doubt,  expressed  what  they  knew  of  his 
religious  character.  It  is  a  splendid  testimony 
to  his  faith  in  Christianity: 

"But  we  derive  a  presage  even  more  flattering 
from  the  piety  of  your  character.  Public  vir 
tue  is  the  most  certain  means  of  public  felicity, 
and  religion  is  the  surest  basis  of  virtue.  We 
therefore  esteem  it  a  peculiar  happiness  to  be 
hold  in  our  Chief  Magistrate,  a  steady,  uniform, 
avowed  friend  of  the  Christian  religion ;  who  has 
commenced  his  administration  in  rational  and 
exalted  sentiments  of  piety;  and  who,  in  his  pri 
vate  conduct,  adorns  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel 
of  Christ;  and  on  the  most  public  and  solemn 

1789]  iffi  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

occasions,  devoutly  acknowledges  the  govern 
ment  of  Divine  Providence."211 

ADDRESS  TO  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 

He  delivered  the  following  reply  to  the  ad 
dress  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Presby 
terian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  May,  1789: 

Gentlemen:  I  receive  with  great  sensibility  the 
testimonial  given  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States  of  America, 
of  the  lively  and  unfeigned  pleasure  experienced  by 
them  on  my  appointment  to  the  first  office  of  the 
nation. 

Although  it  will  be  my  endeavor  to  avoid  being 
elated  by  the  too  favorable  opinion  which  your  kind 
ness  for  me  may  have  induced  you  to  express  of  the 
importance  of  my  former  conduct  and  the  effect  of 
my  future  services,  yet,  conscious  of  the  disinterest 
edness  of  my  motives,  it  is  not  necessary  for  me  to 
conceal  the  satisfaction  I  have  felt  upon  finding  that 
my  compliance  with  the  call  of  my  country  and  my  JL-, 
dependence  on  the  assistance  of  Heaven  to  support 
me  in  my  arduous  undertakings  have,  so  far  as  I  can 
learn,  met  the  universal  approbation  of  my  country 
men. 

While  I  reiterate  the  professions  of  my  dependence 
upon  Heaven  as  the  source  of  all  public  and  private 
blessings,  I  will  observe  that  the  general  prevalence 
of  piety,  philanthropy,  honesty,  industry,  and 
Age  57]  167  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

economy  seems,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  human 
affairs,  particularly  necessary  for  advancing  and  con 
firming  the  happiness  of  our  country.  While  all 
men  within  our  territories  are  protected  in  wor 
shiping  the  Deity  according  to  the  dictates  of  their 
consciences,  it  is  rationally  to  be  expected  from  them 
in  return  that  they  will  all  be  emulous  of  evincing  the 
sanctity  of  their  professions,  of  the  innocence  of  their 
lives,  and  the  beneficence  of  their  actions;  for  no  man 
who  is  profligate  in  his  morals,  or  a  bad  member  of 
the  civil  community,  can  possibly  be  a  true  Christian 
or  a  credit  to  his  own  religious  society. 

I  desire  you  to  accept  my  acknowledgments  for 
your  laudable  endeavors  to  render  men  sober,  honest, 
and  good  citizens,  and  the  obedient  subjects  of  a  law 
ful  government,  as  well  as  for  your  prayers  to  Al 
mighty  God  for  His  blessings  on  our  common  country, 
and  the  humble  instrument  which  He  has  been 
pleased  to  make  use  of  in  the  administration  of  its 
government.212 

ADDRESS  TO  THE  UNITED  BRETHREN 

The  following  address  was  given  to  the  Direc 
tors  of  the  Society  of  the  United  Brethren  for 
Propagating  the  Gospel  among  the  Heathen,  in 
July,  1789: 

Gentlemen:  I  receive  with  satisfaction  the  con 
gratulations  of  your  society,  and  of  the  Brethren's 
congregations  in  the  United  States  of  America.  For 
you  may  be  persuaded  that  the  approbation  and  good 
1789]  168  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

wishes  of  such  a  peaceable  and  virtuous  community 
cannot  be  indifferent  to  me. 

You  will  also  be  pleased  to  accept  my  thanks  for 
the  treatise  you  presented,  ("An  account  of  the  man 
ner  in  which  the  Protestant  Church  of  the  Unitas 
Fratrum,  or  United  Brethren,  preach  the  Gospel  and 
carry  on  their  mission  among  the  Heathen,")  and  be 
assured  of  my  patronage  in  your  laudable  under 
takings. 

In  proportion  as  the  general  government  of  the 
United  States  shall  acquire  strength  by  duration,  it 
is  probable  they  may  have  it  in  their  power  to  extend 
a  salutary  influence  to  the  aborigines  in  the  extremi 
ties  of  their  territory.  In  the  meantime  it  will  be  a 
desirable  thing,  for  the  protection  of  the  Union,  to  co 
operate,  as  far  as  the  circumstances  may  conveni 
ently  admit,  with  the  disinterested  endeavors  of  your 
Society  to  civilize  and  Christianize  the  savages  of  the 
wilderness. 

Under  these  impressions,  I  pray  Almighty  God  to 
have  you  always  in  his  Holy  keeping.213 

ADDRESS  TO  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 

An  address  to  the  Bishops,  Clergy,  and  Laity 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  States 
of  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Pennsylvania,  Dela 
ware,  Maryland,  Virginia  and  North  Carolina, 
in  General  Convention  Assembled,  August  19, 
1789,  is  as  follows: 

Gentlemen:  I  sincerely  thank  you  for  your  af fee- 
Age  57]  169  i1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

tionate  congratulations  on  my  election  to  the  chief 
magistracy  of  the  United  States. 

After  having  received  from  my  fellow-citizens  in 
general  the  most  liberal  treatment,  after  having 
found  them  disposed  to  contemplate,  in  the  most 
flattering  point  of  view,  the  performance  of  my  mili 
tary  services,  and  the  manner  of  my  retirement  at 
the  close  of  the  war,  "I  feel  that  I  have  a  right  to  con 
sole  myself  in  my  present  arduous  undertakings  with 
a  hope  that  they  will  still  be  inclined  to  put  the  most 
favorable  construction  on  the  motives  which  may 
influence  me  in  my  future  public  transactions. 

The  satisfaction  arising  from  the  indulgent  opinion 
entertained  by  the  American  people  of  my  conduct 
will,  I  trust,  be  some  security  for  preventing  me  from 
doing  anything  which  might  justly  incur  the  for 
feiture  of  that  opinion.  And  the  consideration  that 
human  happiness  and  moral  duty  are  inseparably 
connected,  will  always  continue  to  prompt  me  to 
promote  the  progress  of  the  former  by  inculcating 
the  practice  of  the  latter. 

On  this  occasion  it  would  ill  become  me  to  conceal 
the  joy  I  have  felt  in  perceiving  the  fraternal  affec 
tion  which  appears  to  increase  every  day  among  the 
friends  of  genuine  religion.  It  affords  edifying  pros 
pects,  indeed,  to  see  Christians  of  different  denomina 
tions  dwell  together  in  more  charity,  and  conduct 
themselves  in  respect  to  each  other  with  a  more 
Christian-like  spirit,  than  ever  they  have  done  in  any 
former  age,  or  in  any  other  nation. 

I  receive  with  the  greater  satisfaction  your  con- 
1879]  170  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

gratulations  on  the  establishment  of  the  new  con 
stitution  of  government,  because  I  believe  its  mild 
yet  efficient  operations  will  tend  to  remove  every 
remaining  apprehension  of  those  with  whose  opinions 
it  may  not  entirely  coincide,  as  well  as  to  confirm  the 
hopes  of  its  numerous  friends;  and  because  the  mod 
eration,  patriotism,  and  wisdom  of  the  present  fed 
eral  Legislature  seem  to  promise  the  restoration  of 
order  and  our  ancient  virtues,  the  extension  of  genu 
ine  religion,  and  the  consequent  advancement  of  our 
respectability  abroad,  and  of  our  substantial  happi 
ness  at  home. 

I  request,  most  reverend  and  respected  Gentlemen, 
that  you  will  accept  my  cordial  thanks  for  your  de 
vout  supplications  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Uni 
verse  in  behalf  of  me.  May  you,  and  the  people 
whom  you  represent,  be  the  happy  subjects  of  the 
divine  benedictions  both  here  and  hereafter.214 

SICKNESS 

Soon  after  his  inauguration  Washington, 
wearied  by  labor  and  excitement,  was  seized 
with  a  violent  illness  which  lasted  for  six  weeks. 
One  day,  being  alone  with  Dr.  Samuel  Bard,  his 
physician,  he  requested  to  be  told,  without  hesita 
tion,  what  would  be  the  probable  result  of  this 
dangerous  attack,  saying,  "Do  not  flatter  me 
with  vain  hopes;  I  am  not  afraid  to  die,  and 
therefore  can  bear  the  worst." 

The  doctor's  answer,  while  it  expressed  hope, 
acknowledged  his  apprehensions.  The  Presi- 

Age  57]  171  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

dent  replied,  "Whether  to-night,  or  twenty 
years  hence,  makes  no  difference;  I  know  that  I 
am  in  the  hands  of  a  good  Providence."215 

DEATH  OF  His  MOTHER 
Before  the  President  had  entirely  recovered 
he  received   intelligence  of   the   death   of  his 
mother  on  the  25th  of  August,  1789,  at  the  age 
of  eighty-two. 

The  following  extract  from  a  letter,  written 
by  General  Washington  to  his  only  sister,  Mrs. 
Betty  Lewis,  of  Fredericksburg,  Virginia,  will 
attest  the  filial  sensibility  with  which  he  re 
garded  the  death  of  his  mother,  and  the  pious 
resignation  cherished  by  him  in  reference  to  the 
event : 

Awful  and  affecting  as  the  death  of  a  parent  is, 
there  is  consolation  in  knowing  that  Heaven  has 
spared  ours  to  an  age  beyond  which  few  attain,  and 
favored  her  with  the  full  enjoyment  of  her  mental 
faculties,  and  as  much  bodily  strength  as  usually 
falls  to  the  lot  of  fourscore.  Under  these  considera 
tions,  and  the  hope  that  she  is  translated  to  a  happier 
place,  it  is  the  duty  of  her  relatives  to  yield  due  sub 
mission  to  the  decrees  of  the  Creator.  When  I  was 
last  at  Fredericksburg  I  took  a  final  leave  of  my 
mother,  never  expecting  to  see  her  more.216 

FIRST  NATIONAL  THANKSGIVING 
The  proclamation  for  the  first  national  thanks- 

1789]  172  [Age  57 


A  CHRISTIAN  PRESIDENT 

giving  day  in  the  new  republic  was  issued  Oc 
tober  3,  1789,  as  follows: 

Whereas,  it  is  the  duty  of  all  nations  to  acknowl 
edge  the  Providence  of  Almighty  God,  to  obey  his  will, 
to  be  grateful  for  his  benefits,  and  humbly  to  implore 
his  protection  and  favor;  and,  whereas,  both  Houses 
of  Congress  have,  by  their  joint  committee,  re 
quested  me  "to  recommend  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States  a  day  of  public  thanksgiving  and 
prayer,  to  be  observed  by  acknowledging  with  grate 
ful  hearts  the  many  and  signal  favors  of  Almighty 
God,  especially  by  affording  them  an  opportunity 
peaceably  to  establish  a  form  of  government  for 
their  safety  and  happiness;'* 

Now,  therefore,  I  do  recommend  and  assign 
Thursday,  the  twenty-sixth  day  of  November  next, 
to  be  devoted  by  the  people  of  these  States  to  the 
service  of  that  great  and  glorious  Being,  who  is  the 
Beneficent  Author  of  all  the  good  that  was,  that  is, 
or  that  will  be;  that  we  may  then  all  unite  in  render 
ing  unto  Him  our  sincere  and  humble  thanks  for  His 
kind  care  and  protection  of  the  people  of  this  country, 
previous  to  their  becoming  a  nation;  for  the  signal 
and  manifold  mercies,  and  the  favorable  interposi 
tions  of  His  providence,  in  the  course  and  conclusion 
of  the  late  war;  for  the  great  degree  of  tranquillity, 
union,  and  plenty,  which  we  have  since  enjoyed;  for 
the  peaceable  and  rational  manner  in  which  we  have 
been  enabled  to  establish  constitutions  of  govern 
ment  for  our  safety  and  happiness,  and  particularly 
the  national  one  now  lately  instituted;  for  the  civil 
Age  57]  173  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

and  religious  liberty  with  which  we  are  blessed,  and 
the  means  we  have  of  acquiring  and  diffusing  useful 
knowledge;  and,  in  general,  for  all  the  great  and 
various  favors,  which  He  has  been  pleased  to  confer 
upon  us. 

And,  also,  that  we  may  then  unite  in  most  humbly 
offering  our  prayers  and  supplications  to  the  great 
Lord  and  Ruler  of  Nations,  and  beseech  Him  to  par 
don  our  national  and  other  transgressions;  to  enable 
us  all,  whether  in  public  or  private  stations,  to  per 
form  our  several  and  relative  duties  properly  and 
punctually;  to  render  our  national  government  a 
blessing  to  all  the  people,  by  constantly  being  a  gov 
ernment  of  wise,  just,  and  constitutional  laws,  dis 
creetly  and  faithfully  executed  and  obeyed;  to  pro 
tect  and  guide  all  sovereigns  and  nations  (especially 
such  as  have  shown  kindness  to  us),  and  to  bless 
them  with  good  governments,  peace,  and  concord;  to 
promote  the  knowledge  and  practice  of  true  religion 
and  virtue,  and  the  increase  of  science,  among  them 
and  us;  and,  generally,  to  grant  unto  all  mankind 
such  a  degree  of  temporal  prosperity  as  He  alone 
knows  to  be  best. 

Given  under  my  hand,  at  the  city  of  New  York, 
the  third  day  of  October,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  eighty-nine.217 


1789]  174,  [Age  57 


CHAPTER  XIII 
HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

SUNDAYS  AWAY  FROM  HOME 
As  soon  as  his  health  was  restored,  after  the 
severe  attack  we  have  mentioned,  in  the  first 
year  of  his  presidency,  President  Washington 
made  a  long-intended  tour  by  carriage  through 
the  New  England  States,  traveling  in  his  own 
chariot,  attended  on  horseback  by  his  secre 
taries.  The  following  extracts  from  his  diary 
show  how  he  spent  the  Sundays  away  from 
home,  including  the  last  two  Sundays  at  home 
in  New  York: 

October,  1789 
Sunday,  4th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chappel  in  forenoon. 

Sunday,  llth 
At  home  all  day — writing  private  letters. 

Thursday,  15th 

Commenced  my  journey  about  9  o'clock  for  Boston 
and  tour  through  the  Eastern  States. 

At  New  Haven,  Connecticut 

Sunday,  18th  [October] 
Went  in  the  forenoon  to  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 

Age  57]  175  [1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

in  the  afternoon  to  one  of  the  Congregational  Meet- 
ing-Houses.218 

At  Boston,  Massachusetts 
Sunday,  25th  [October] 

Attended  Divine  Service  at  the  Episcopal  Church, 
whereof  Doctor  Samuel  Parker  is  the  Incumbent,  in 
the  forenoon,  and  the  Congregational  Church  of  Mr. 
Thatcher  [Rev.  Peter  Thatcher]  in  the  afternoon.219 

At  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire 

November  1st,  1789 

I  went  in  the  forenoon  to  the  Episcopal  Church, 
under  the  incumbency  of  a  Mr.  Ogden;  in  the  after 
noon  to  one  of  the  Presbyterian  or  Congregational 
Churches,  in  which  a  Mr.  Buckminster  [Rev.  Joseph 
Buckminster]  preached.220  (See  p.  178.) 

A  Sunday  in  Connecticut 
Sunday,  8th  [November] 

It  being  contrary  to  law  and  disagreeable  to  the 
People  of  this  State  [Connecticut]  to  travel  on  the 
Sabbath  Day — and  my  horses,  after  passing  through 
such  intolerable  roads,  wanting  to  rest,  I  stayed  at 
Perkins*  tavern  (which,  by  the  by,  is  not  a  good  one) 
all  day — and  a  meeting-house  being  within  a  few 
rods  of  the  door,  I  attended  morning  and  evening 
service,  and  heard  very  lame  discourses  from  a  Mr. 
Pond  [Rev.  Enoch  Pond].221 

Halted  by  Officer 
On  this  Sunday,  Washington  came  near  being 

1789]  176  [Age  57 


HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

arrested,  as  related  in  the  following  very  inter 
esting  incident: 

"In  the  town  of  — ,  in  Connecticut, 

where  the  roads  were  extremely  rough,  Wash 
ington  was  overtaken  by  night,  on  Saturday, 
not  being  able  to  reach  the  town,  where  he 
designed  to  rest  on  the  Sabbath.  Next  morn 
ing  about  sunrise,  his  coach  was  harnessed, 
and  he  was  proceeding  onward  to  an  inn, 
near  the  place  of  worship,  which  he  proposed 
to  attend. 

"A  plain  man,  who  was  an  informing  officer, 
came  from  a  cottage,  and  inquired  of  the  coach 
man  whther  there  were  any  urgent  reasons  for 
his  traveling  on  the  Lord's  Day.  The  General, 
instead  of  resenting  this  as  impertinent  rudeness, 
ordered  the  coachman  to  stop,  and  with  great 
civility  explained  the  circumstances  to  the  of 
ficer,  commending  him  for  his  fidelity,  and  as 
sured  him  that  nothing  was  farther  from  his  in 
tention  than  to  treat  with  disrespect  the  laws 
and  usages  of  Connecticut,  relative  to  the  Sab 
bath,  which  met  with  his  most  cordial  approba 
tion."222 

SUNDAYS  AT  HOME 

How  Washington  spent  his  Sundays  at  home 
in  New  York,  as  shown  by  a  few  extracts  from 
his  diary: 

Age  57]  177  I1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Sunday,  15th  [November,  1789] 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  22nd 

Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon — heard 
a  charity  sermon  for  the  benefit  of  the  Orphan's 
School  of  this  city. 

Thursday,  26th 

Being  the  day  appointed  for  a  thanksgiving,  I  went 
to  St.  Paul's  Chapel,  though  it  was  most  inclement 
and  stormy — but  few  people  at  church. 

Sunday,  29th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon.223 

December,  1789 

Sunday,  6th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  13th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  20th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon.224 

LETTER  TO  REV.  JOSEPH  BUCKMINSTER 
The  following  letter  was  written  from  New 
York,  December  23,  1789,  to  Rev.  Joseph  Buck- 
minster,  D.D.,  of  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire, 
whose  church  Washington  attended  November  1, 
1789,  during  his  New  England  trip  (see  page  176) : 
Your  letter  of  the  27th  of  November  and  the  dis- 

1789]  178  [Age  57 


ST.  PAUL'S  CHAPEL,  NEW  YORK 


HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

course  which  it  enclosed  has  been  duly  read.  I  con 
sider  the  sermon  on  the  death  of  Sir  William  Pepper- 
ell,  which  you  were  so  good  as  to  send  me  by  the  de 
sire  of  Lady  Pepperell,  his  relict,  as  a  mark  of  atten 
tion  from  her  which  required  my  particular  acknowl 
edgements;  and  I  am  sorry  that  the  death  of  that 
lady,  which  I  see  announced  in  the  public  papers, 
prevents  my  thanks  being  returned  to  her  for  her 
respect  and  good  wishes.  You,  sir,  will  please  ac 
cept  them  for  yourself  in  forwarding  the  discourse, 
and  my  request  that  they  may  be  added  to  the 
Reverend  Clark  with  my  approbation  of  the  doctrine 
therein  inculcated. 

This  letter  to  Doctor  Buckminster  is  especially 
notable,  because,  though  the  larger  part  was 
dictated,  Washington  has  added  in  his  own  hand 
his  "approbation  of  the  doctrine"  of  the  dis 
course.  It  is  doubtful  if  in  all  his  writings  simi 
lar  approval  of  any  statement  of  doctrine  can 
be  found.  The  title  of  the  able  discourse 
alluded  to  is  "A  Sermon  occasioned  by  the 
death  of  the  Honorable  Sir  William  Pepperell, 
Bart.,  Lieutenant  General  in  His  Majesty's 
Service,  etc.,  who  died  at  his  seat  in  Kittery  (near 
Portsmouth,  N.  H.),  July  6,  1759;  Preached  the 
next  Lord's  Day  after  his  funeral  by  Benjamin 
Stevens,  A.  M.,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  in 
Kittery,  Boston,  etc.,  1759." 

The  text  selected  for  this  most  eminent  per- 

Age  57]  179  I1789 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

sonage  of  Maine — the  only  native  of  America 
ever  baroneted,  though  two  were  knighted 
(Fitch  and  Randolph) — was  from  the  8£d  psalm, 
"But  ye  shall  die  like  men"  (v.  7.)  Referring 
to  the  previous  verse,  "I  have  said,  Ye  are  gods," 
the  preacher  said  that  rulers  might  in  a  sense 
be  properly  so  styled,  because  government  being 
appointed  of  God,  magistrates  were  his  repre 
sentatives.  He  defined  God  as  a  moral  Gov 
ernor,  engaged  in  a  great  plan  of  wisdom  and 
benevolence.  "As  this  world  is  not  a  state  of 
Retribution,  it  is  requisite  that  these  earthly 
Gods  should  be  removed  by  Death  as  well  as 
other  Men,  in  order  to  complete  the  Plan  of  the 
Divine  Government.  Indeed,  the  great  ends 
of  the  moral  administration  of  God  seem  to 
require  this,  to  suppress  the  progress  of  vice  and 
promote  virtue  and  goodness  in  the  present 
state,  but  especially  for  the  final  adjustment  of 
all  things  with  equity."225 

DIARY  (CONTINUED) 
Friday,  25th — Christmas  Day 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  27th 

At  home — all  day — weather  being  bad. 
January,  1790 
Sunday,  3d 

Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel. 

1790]  180  [Age  58 


HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

Sunday,  10th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  17th 
At  home  all  day — not  well. 

Sunday,  24th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  31st 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

February,  1790 

Sunday,  7th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  14th 

At  home  all  day.     Writing  private  letters  to  Vir 
ginia. 

Sunday,  21st 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

Sunday,  28th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon. 

March,  1790 
Sunday,  7th 

At  home  all  day — writing  letters  on  private  busi 
ness. 

Sunday,  14th 

Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon — wrote 
letters  on  private  business  afterwards. 
Age  58]  181  [1790 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Sunday,  21st 

Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon — wrote 
private  letters  in  the  afternoon. 

Received  Mr.  Jefferson,  Minister  of  State,  about 
one  o'clock. 

Sunday,  28th 
Went  to  St.  Paul's  Chapel  in  the  forenoon.226 

CONSECRATION  or  TRINITY  CHURCH 
Wednesday,  March  24,  1790,  the  new  Trinity 
Church,  New  York,  was  consecrated;  Bishop 
Samuel  Provoost  officiated.  The  President,  Mrs. 
Washington,  and  their  two  children  occupied  a 
handsomely  draped  pew,  which  the  wardens, 
John  Jay  and  James  Duane,  had  selected  and 
arranged  for  the  Executive  family.227 

DIARY  (CONTINUED) 

It  will  be  observed  that  hereafter  he  attends 
the  new  Trinity  Church. 

April,  1790 
Sunday,  4th 
At  home  all  day — unwell. 

Sunday,  llth 

Went  to  Trinity  Church  in  the  forenoon,  and  wrote 
several  private  letters  in  the  afternoon. 

Sunday,  18th 

At  home  all  day — the  weather  being  very  stormy 
&  bad,  wrote  private  letters. 
1790]  182  lA«e  58 


HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

Sunday,  25th 

Went  to  Trinity  Church,  and  wrote  letters  home 
after  dinner.228 

May,  1790 
Sunday,  2d 

Went  to  Trinity  Church  in  the  forenoon — writ 
ing  letters  on  private  business  in  the  afternoon. 

Sunday,  9th 

Indisposed  with  a  bad  cold,  and  at  home  all  day 
writing  letters  on  private  business. 

June,  1790 
Sunday,  27th 

Went  to  Trinity  Church  in  the  forenoon — and  em 
ployed  myself  in  writing  business  in  the  afternoon. 

July,  1790 
Sunday,  4th 

Went  to  Trinity  Church  in  the  forenoon.  This 
day  being  the  Anniversary  of  the  Declaration  of  In 
dependency  the  celebration  of  it  was  put  off  until 
to-morrow. 

Monday,  5th 

About  one  o'clock  a  sensible  oration  was  delivered 
in  St.  Paul's  Chapel  by  Rev.  Brockholst  Levingston, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  day. 

Sunday,  llth 

At  home  all  day — dispatching  some  business  rela 
tive  to  my  own  private  concerns.229 
Age  58]  183  [1790 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

By  the  extracts  from  his  diary,  which  we  have 
quoted,  it  is  seen  that  during  the  seven  and  a 
third  months,  from  October  1  to  May  9,  of 
the  thirty-two  Sundays,  Washington  attended 
church  on  twenty-five  of  them.  He  also  at 
tended  three  times  on  week  days,  making  twenty- 
eight  times  in  all.  He  remained  at  home  seven 
Sundays — three  because  he  was  not  well,  and 
two  on  account  of  stormy  weather;  the  other 
two,  apparently,  because  it  was  necessary  to 
attend  to  private  correspondence.  Washington 
considered  that  his  time  during  the  week  be 
longed  to  public  business,  and,  therefore,  was 
obliged  to  attend  to  private  matters  on  Sunday. 
It  will  be  noticed  from  his  diary  that,  after  Sun 
day,  May  2,  he  did  not  attend  church  again  for 
several  weeks.  He  states  that  he  became  very 
ill  on  May  10  and  was  convalescent  for  several 
weeks,  during  which  time  his  diary  was  sus 
pended.  As  soon  as  he  is  able,  he  is  again  found 
in  his  place  of  worship  on  the  last  Sunday  in  June. 

No  SUNDAY  VISITING 

Though  he  had,  as  we  have  seen,  paid  a 
marked  respect  to  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath 
throughout  his  previous  life,  there  seemed  to  be, 
during  his  Presidency,  an  increased  regard  and 
deference  for  the  same.  Not  only  was  he  most 
punctual  in  his  attendance  on  the  public  worship 

1790]  184 


HOW  WASHINGTON  SPENT  SUNDAY 

of  God,  whenever  it  was  possible,  but  the  dis 
cipline  of  his  house  was  strictly  conformed  to 
the  obligations  and  proprieties  of  the  day.  It 
was  an  established  rule  of  his  mansion  that  visi 
tors  could  not  be  admitted  on  Sundays.  It  is 
understood  that  an  exception  to  the  rule  was 
made  in  the  case  of  one  individual,  namely,  Mr. 
Trumbull,  speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  He  often  spent  an  hour  on  Sunday  even 
ings  with  the  President;  and  so  entirely  was  the 
privilege  confined  to  him  that  it  was  usual  with 
the  house  servant  when  he  heard  the  door-bell 
ring,  on  those  evenings,  to  call  it  the  "Speaker's 
bell." 

After  spending  a  part  of  the  day  at  church, 
and  occasionally  an  hour  in  the  evening  with 
Mr.  Trumbull,  one  of  the  most  pious  men  of  his 
age,  the  rest  of  the  time  preceding  the  hour  of 
repose  was  occupied,  as  previously  mentioned, 
by  the  President's  reading  to  Mrs.  Washington 
a  sermon  or  a  portion  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.230 

CHURCH  SUBSCRIPTIONS 

November  20,  1790,  President  Washington 
reminded  his  manager  at  Mount  Vernon  that 
on  Monday  the  annual  church  subscriptions 
were  due,  mentioning  among  other  items,  ten 
pounds  to  the  Rev.  Thomas  Davis,  rector  of 
Christ  Church,  Alexandria.231 

Age  58]  185  [1790 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  IN  NEW  YORK 
While  he  resided  in  New  York,  Washington 
was  a  regular  worshiper  at  St.  Paul's  Chapel  and 
Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  and  he  highly  es 
teemed  Bishop  Provoost,  the  rector  of  Trinity 
parish,  not  only  as  a  clergyman,  but  because  he 
had  taken  such  a  bold  stand  for  his  country  dur 
ing  the  Revolution. 


186 


CHAPTER  XIV 
WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

THE  President  was  not  only  a  regular  atten 
dant  at  church,  but  he  was  a  communicant.  This 
fact  is  conclusively  established  by  the  following 
creditable  evidence: 

(1)  STATEMENT  BY  DR.  CHAPMAN 
The  following  extract  is  from  a  volume  of  ser 
mons  published  in  1836  by  the  Rev.  George 
Thomas  Chapman,  D.D.  It  is  here  given  be 
cause  of  the  authenticity  and  conclusiveness  of 
the  testimony  furnished  by  it: 

"He  [George  Washington]  lived  at  a  period 
when  there  were  less  verbal  pretensions  on  the 
subject  of  religion,  than  have  become  exceed 
ingly  fashionable  in  modern  times,  and  the  con 
sequence  is  that  in  his  life  we  have  more  of  the 
substance  than  the  parade  of  piety.  Still  he  was 
an  open  and  avowed  follower  of  the  Lord  of 
glory.  From  the  lips  of  a  lady  of  undoubted 
veracity,  yet  living  [1835]  and  a  worthy  com 
municant  of  the  church,  I  received  the  interest 
ing  fact  that  soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolu 
tionary  War  she  saw  him  partake  of  the  conse- 
187 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

crated  symbols  of  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ, 
in  Trinity  Church,  in  the  city  of  New  York."232 

(2)     TESTIMONY  or  MAJOR  POPHAM 

Further  direct  testimony  is  given  by  Major 
Popham,  a  competent  witness,  as  shown  by  the 
following  extract  from  a  letter  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Berrian,  of  New  York,  to  Mrs.  Jane  Washington, 
of  Mount  Vernon,  in  answer  to  some  inquiries 
about  General  Washington  during  his  residence 
in  New  York  as  President  of  the  United  States : 

"About  a  fortnight  since  I  was  administering 
the  communion  to  a  sick  daughter  of  Major 
Popham,  and,  after  the  service  was  over,  hap 
pening  to  speak  on  this  subject,  I  was  greatly 
rejoiced  to  obtain  the  information  which  you  so 
earnestly  desired. 

"Major  Popham  served  under  General  Wash 
ington  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  and  I 
believe  he  was  brought  as  near  to  him  as  their 
difference  of  rank  would  admit,  being  himself  a 
man  of  great  respectability,  and  connected  by 
marriage  with  the  Morrises,  one  of  the  first  fami 
lies  in  the  country.  He  has  still  an  erect  and 
military  air,  and  a  body  but  little  broken  at  his 
advanced  age.  His  memory  does  not  seem  to  be 
impaired  nor  his  mind  to  be  enfeebled."233 

"To  the  above,"  says  Bishop  Meade,  of  the 
Episcopal  Church,  "I  can  add  my  own  testi- 
188 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

mony,  having  in  different  ways  become  ac 
quainted  with  the  character  of  Major  Popham, 
and  having  visited  him  about  the  same  time 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Berrian." 

(3)     EXTRACT  FROM  MAJOR  POPHAM'S  LETTER 
TO  MRS.  JANE  WASHINGTON 

NEW  YORK,  March  14,  1839. 
MY  DEAR  MADAM:  You  will  doubtless  be  not  a 
little  surprised  at  receiving  a  letter  from  an  individual 
whose  name  may  possibly  never  have  reached  you; 
but  an  accidental  circumstance  has  given  me  the 
extreme  pleasure  of  introducing  myself  to  your  notice. 
In  a  conversation  with  the  Reverend  Doctor  Berrian, 
a  few  days  since,  he  informed  me  that  he  had  lately 
paid  a  visit  to  Mount  Vernon,  and  that  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  had  expressed  a  wish  to  have  a  doubt  re 
moved  from  her  mind,  which  had  long  oppressed 
her,  as  to  the  certainty  of  the  General's  having 
attended  the  communion  while  residing  in  the  city  of 
New  York  subsequent  to  the  Revolution.  As  nearly 
all  the  remnants  of  those  days  are  now  sleeping  with 
their  fathers,  it  is  not  very  probable  that  at  this  late 
day  an  individual  can  be  found  who  could  satisfy 
this  pious  wish  of  your  virtuous  heart  except  the 
writer.  It  was  my  great  good  fortune  to  have  at 
tended  St.  Paul's  Church  in  this  city  with  the  General 
during  the  whole  period  of  his  residence  in  New 
York  as  President  of  the  United  States.  The  pew  of 
Chief-Justice  Morris  was  situated  next  to  that  of 
the  President,  close  to  whom  I  constantly  sat  in 
189 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Judge  Morris's  pew,  and  I  am  as  confident  as  a  mem 
ory  now  laboring  under  the  pressure  of  fourscore 
years  and  seven  can  make  me,  that  the  President  had 
more  than  once — I  believe  I  may  say  often — at 
tended  at  the  sacramental  table,  at  which  I  had  the 
privilege  and  happiness  to  kneel  with  him.  And  I  am 
aided  in  my  associations  by  my  elder  daughter,  who 
distinctly  recollects  her  grandmamma — Mrs.  Morris 
— often  mentioned  that  fact  with  great  pleasure.  In 
deed,  I  am  further  confirmed  in  my  assurance  by  the 
perfect  recollection  of  the  President's  uniform  deport 
ment  during  divine  service  in  church.  The  steady 
seriousness  of  his  manner,  the  solemn,  audible,  and 
subdued  tone  of  voice  in  which  he  read  and  repeated 
the  responses,  the  Chrisitan  humility  which  over 
spread  and  adorned  the  native  dignity  of  the  saviour 
of  his  country,  at  once  exhibited  him  a  pattern  to  all 
who  had  the  honor  of  access  to  him.  It  was  my  good 
fortune,  my  dear  madam,  to  have  had  frequent  inter 
course  with  him.  It  was  my  pride  and  boast  to  have 
seen  him  in  various  situations — in  the  flush  of  victory, 
in  the  field,  and  in  the  tent — in  the  church  and  at  the 
altar,  always  himself,  ever  the  same.234 

CHURCH  ATTENDANCE  IN  PHILADELPHIA 
(1)     Testimony  of  Reverend  E.  C.  M'Guire 

"In  December,  1790,  Congress  met  at  Phila 
delphia,  and  the  President,  of  course,  removed 
there  [August  30,  1790].  His  conduct  con 
tinued  to  be  distinguished  by  the  same  uniform 

1790]  190  [Age  58 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

and  punctual  observance  of  religious  duties 
which  has  always  marked  his  life.  He  had  a 
pew  in  Christ  Church  of  that  city,  of  which  the 
venerable  Bishop  White  was  then  the  rector. 
During  all  the  time  that  he  was  in  the  govern 
ment  Washington  was  punctual  in  his  attend 
ance  on  divine  worship.  His  pew  was  seldom 
vacant  when  the  weather  would  permit  him  to 
attend."235 

(2)     Testimony  of  George  Washington  Parke 
Custis 

In  regard  to  his  habit  at  that  time  (writes  the 
Rev.  E.  C.  M'Guire,  in  1835),  the  living  grand 
son  of  Mrs.  Washington,  Geo.  W.  P.  Custis,  Esq., 
of  Arlington,  Virginia,  bears  the  following  testi 
mony:  "On  Sundays,  unless  the  weather  was 
uncommonly  severe,  the  President  and  Mrs. 
Washington  attended  divine  service  at  Christ 
Church;  and  in  the  evenings  the  President  read 
to  Mrs.  Washington,  in  her  chamber,  a  sermon, 
or  some  portion  from  the  Sacred  Writings.  No 
visitors,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Speaker 
Trumbull,  were  admitted  to  the  president's 
house  on  Sundays."236 

(3)     Statement  of  Bishop  White 
The  Reverend  William  White,  D.D.,  bishop 
of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in  the  Com- 
191 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

monwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  was  the  rector  of 
Christ  Church  when  Washington  resided  in 
Philadelphia.  In  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  B.  B.  C. 
Parker,  November  28,  1832,  he  says:  "The 
father  of  our  country,  as  well  during  the  Revolu 
tionary  War  as  in  his  Presidency,  attended  divine 
service  in  Christ  Church  in  this  city  [Phila 
delphia]  except  during  one  winter  (1781-82), 
when,  being  here  for  the  taking  of  measures  with 
Congress  towards  the  opening  of  the  next  cam 
paign,  he  rented  a  house  near  St.  Peter's  Church, 
then  in  parochial  union  with  Christ  Church. 
During  that  season  he  attended  regularly  at 
St.  Peter's.  His  behavior  was  always  serious  and 
attentive;  but  as  your  letter  seems  to  intend  an 
inquiry  on  the  point  of  kneeling  during  service,  I 
owe  it  to  the  truth  to  declare,  that  I  never  saw 
him  in  that  attitude.  During  his  Presidency 
our  vestry  provided  him  with  a  pew  not  ten 
yards  in  front  of  the  desk.  It  was  habitually 
occupied  by  himself,  by  Mrs.  Washington,  who 
was  regularly  a  communicant,  and  by  his  sec 
retaries."237 

The  fact  that  Dr.  White  never  saw  Wash 
ington  kneel  is  of  little  consequence.  The 
testimony  of  other  worshipers  is  that  he  did 
kneel.  A  minister  seldom  knows  the  posture 
of  individuals  in  his  congregation  during 
prayer. 

192 


CHRIST  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

(4)  Washington  at  Church 
"My  next  view  of  him  was  a  nearer  and  more 
distinct  one — it  was  as  a  worshiper.  My 
parents,  who  were  Episcopalians,  had  a  front 
pew  in  the  gallery  of  Christ  Church,  in  Philadel 
phia;  and  from  that  favorable  post  of  observa 
tion  I  noticed,  in  the  middle  aisle,  a  pew  lined 
with  crimson  velvet  fringed  with  gold,  into  which 
I  saw  a  highly  dignified  gentleman  enter,  ac 
companied  by  two  others,  younger  than  him 
self,  and  most  respectful  in  their  deportment 
towards  him.  These  as  I  have  since  learned, 
were  members  of  his  military  family.  I  was 
but  a  young  boy,  and  the  impression,  as  I  well 
remember,  on  my  youthful  mind  was,  that 
I  had  never  seen  so  grand  a  gentleman  before. 
Everybody  else  seemed  to  be  of  the  same  mind; 
for  I  do  not  consider  it  a  slander  on  the  very 
respectable  congregation  worshiping  in  that 
church  to  say  that  far  more  looks  were  fixed 
upon  that  pew  than  on  the  pulpit  (unless,  in 
deed,  it  happened  to  be  occupied  by  that  most 
excellent  and  venerable  of  prelates,  Bishop 
White).  The  deportment  of  Washington  was 
reverent  and  attentive;  his  eyes,  when  not  on 
the  prayer-book,  were  on  the  officiating  clergy 
man,  and  no  witless  or  irreverent  worshiper 
could  plead  Washington's  example.  I  have 
since  been  in  the  church  at  Alexandria,  in  Vir- 
193 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

ginia,  which  was  his  parish  church — have 
handled  the  prayer-book  he  used,  and  seen  his 
well-known  autograph  in  front  of  his  Bible;  and 
here  the  same  impression  existed  as  to  his  regu 
lar  and  exemplary  attendance  and  demeanor. 
He  could  not  always  be  present  in  the  church  at 
Philadelphia,  in  the  afternoon,  being  pressed 
by  the  exigency  of  public  affairs,  which,  in  the 
mind  of  Washington,  were  ever  held  to  be  mat 
ters  of  necessity.  Hence  he  gave  orders  that 
in  case  certain  important  despatches  were  re 
ceived  during  his  attendance  in  church,  they 
should  be  brought  to  him  there;  and  I  have  seen 
them  delivered  into  his  hands.  He  opened 
them  immediately,  and  deliberately  and  atten 
tively  read  them  through;  then  laying  them  on 
the  seat  by  his  side,  he  resumed  his  prayer-book, 
and,  apparently,  gave  his  mind  to  the  solemni 
ties  of  the  place  and  the  hour."238 

(5)     Takes  Communion 

General  Robert  Porterfield,  of  Augusta, 
Georgia,  was  brigade-inspector  under  General 
Washington  in  the  Revolution.  His  duties 
brought  him  in  close  contact  with  Washington. 
General  S.  H.  Lewis,  of  Augusta  County, 
Georgia,  in  a  letter  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Dana, 
of  Alexandria,  Virginia,  December  14,  1855, 
says  that  General  Porterfield  said  to  him: 
194 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

"General  Washington  was  a  pious  man,  and  a 
member  of  your  church  [Episcopal].  I  saw 
him  myself  on  his  knees  receive  the  sacrament 
of  the  Lord's  Supper  in Church,  in  Phila 
delphia. 

"He  specified  the  time  and  place.  My  im 
pression  is  that  Christ  Church  was  the  place, 
and  Bishop  White,  as  he  afterward  was,  the 
minister.  This  is,  to  the  best  of  my  recollec 
tion,  an  accurate  statement  of  what  I  heard 
from  General  Porterfield  on  the  subject."239 

(6)  Withdraws  from  Communion 
"It  is  certainly  a  fact,"  says  Bishop  Meade,  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  "that  for  a  certain  period 
of  time  during  his  Presidential  term,  while  Con 
gress  was  held  in  Philadelphia,  he  did  not  com 
mune.  This  fact  rests  on  the  authority  of  Bishop 
White,  under  whose  ministry  the  President  sat, 
and  who  was  on  the  most  intimate  terms  with 
himself  and  Mrs.  Washington.  I  will  relate 
what  the  Bishop  told  myself  and  others  in  rela 
tion  to  it.  During  the  session  or  sessions  of 
Congress  held  in  Philadelphia,  General  Wash 
ington  was,  with  his  family,  a  regular  attendant 
at  one  of  the  churches  under  the  care  of  Bishop 
White  and  his  assistants.  On  communion  days, 
when  the  congregation  was  dismissed  (except 
the  portion  which  communed),  the  General  left 
195 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  church,  until  a  certain  Sabbath  on  which 
Dr.  Abercrombie,  in  his  sermon,  spoke  of  the 
impropriety  of  turning  our  backs  on  the  Lord's 
table,  that  is,  neglecting  to  commune;  from 
which  time  General  Washington  came  no  more 
on  communion  days.  Bishop  White  supposes 
that  the  General  understood  the  words  'turning 
our  backs  on  the  Lord's  table'  in  a  somewhat 
different  sense  than  was  designed  by  the 
preacher;  that  he  supposed  it  was  intended  to 
censure  those  who  left  the  church  at  the  time  of 
its  administration,  and  in  order  not  to  seem  to 
be  disrespectful  to  that  ordinance,  thought  it 
better  not  to  be  present  at  all  on  such  occasions. 
It  is  needless  to  attempt  to  conjecture  what  may 
have  been  the  reason  of  this  temporary  suspen 
sion  of  the  act  of  communicating.  A  regard  for 
historic  truth  has  led  to  the  mention  of  this  sub 
ject.  The  question  as  to  his  ever  having  been  a 
communicant  has  been  raised  on  this  fact,  as 
stated  by  Bishop  White,  and  we  have  thought  it 
best  to  give  the  narrative  as  we  heard  it  from 
the  lips  of  the  Bishop  himself."240 

(7)     Bishop  Meades  Comment 

Referring  to  the  foregoing  statement  of  Bishop 

White,  and  the  fact  of  Washington's  withdrawing 

from  the  communion,  Bishop  Meade  says:  "He 

may  have  communed  in  Philadelphia  on  some 

196 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

occasion  and  yet  not  been  seen  by  Bishop  White, 
who  had  the  care  of  two  or  three  churches,  at 
which  he  officiated  alternately  in  conjunction 
with  one  or  more  ministers.  He  may  have 
retired,  and  doubtelss  did,  at  other  times,  and 
was  seen  by  Bishop  White.  If  it  be  asked  how 
we  can  reconcile  this  leaving  of  the  church  at 
any  time  of  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
with  a  religious  character,  we  reply  by  stating  a 
well-known  fact,  viz. :  that  in  former  days  there 
was  a  most  mistaken  notion,  too  prevalent  both 
in  England  and  America,  that  it  was  not  so 
necessary  in  the  professors  of  religion  to  com 
municate  at  all  times,  but  that  in  this  respect 
persons  might  be  regulated  by  their  feelings,  and 
perhaps  by  the  circumstances  in  which  they  were 
placed.  I  have  had  occasion  to  see  much  of 
this  in  my  researches  into  the  habits  of  the  mem 
bers  of  the  old  Church  of  Virginia.  Into  this 
error  of  opinion  and  practice  General  Washing 
ton  may  have  fallen,  especially  at  a  time  when 
he  was  peculiarly  engaged  with  the  cares  of  gov 
ernment  and  a  multiplicity  of  engagements,  and 
when  his  piety  may  have  suffered  some  loss 
thereby/'241 

PRIVATE  PRAYER 

During  his  residence  in  Philadelphia,  as  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States,  it  was  the  habit  of 
Washington,  winter  and  summer,  to  retire  to  his 
197 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

study  at  a  certain  hour  every  night.  He  usually 
did  so  at  nine  o'clock — always  having  a  lighted 
candle  in  his  hand,  and  closing  the  door  care 
fully  after  him.  A  youthful  member  of  the 
household  whose  room  was  near  the  study,  being 
just  across  the  passage,  observing  this  constant 
practice  of  the  President,  had  his  thoughts  ex 
cited  in  reference  to  the  cause  of  so  uniform  a 
custom.  Accordingly,  on  one  occasion,  in  the  in 
dulgence  of  a  juvenile  curiosity,  he  looked  into  the 
room,  some  time  after  the  President  had  gone  in; 
and  to  his  surprise,  saw  him  upon  his  knees  at  a 
small  table,  with  a  candle  and  open  Bible  thereon. 
In  these  facts  we  have  all  the  evidence  we 
could  ask  of  his  uniform  attention  to  the  divinely 
commanded  observance  of  private  prayer.  The 
evidence  too  embraces  a  very  large  portion  of 
his  life.  Our  limited  and  partial  information 
comprehends  a  period  of  forty  years — that  is, 
from  his  twenty-third  to  beyond  his  sixtieth  year. 
It  was  his  habit  while  engaged  in  the  French 
and  Indian  war;  it  was  so  also  during  the  Revo 
lutionary  War;  and  it  was  the  same  during  his 
Presidential  terms,  and  no  doubt  it  was  so  to 
the  end  of  his  life.242 

ASKED  BLESSING  AT  TABLE 
He  was  in  the  habit  of  asking  the  divine  bless 
ing  at  his  table,  although,  when  a  minister  of  the 
198 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

gospel  was  present,  he  requested  him  to  officiate. 
The  late  venerable  Dr.  Ashabel  Green,  who  was 
one  of  the  chaplains  of  Congress  from  1792  to 
1800,  says,  "It  was  the  usage  under  President 
Washington's  administration,  that  the  chap 
lains  of  Congress  should  dine  with  him  once  in 
every  month,  when  Congress  was  in  session." 
He  mentions,  "that  the  place  of  the  chaplain 
was  directly  opposite  to  the  President.  The 
company  stood  while  the  blessing  was  asked, 
and  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  President's  mind 
was  probably  occupied  with  some  interesting  con 
cern,  and  on  going  to  the  table  he  began  to  ask  a 
blessing  himself.  He  uttered  but  a  word  or  two, 
when,  bowing  to  me,"  says  Dr.  Green,  "he  re 
quested  me  to  proceed,  which  I  accordingly  did. 
I  mention  this,"  he  continues,  "because  it  shows 
that  President  Washington  always  asked  a  bless 
ing  himself  when  a  chaplain  was  not  present."243 

In  some  reminiscences  of  Washington  by  the 
Rev.  Ashabel  Green,  we  learn  that  "he  always, 
unless  a  clergyman  was  present,  at  his  own 
table,  asked  a  blessing,  in  a  standing  posture. 
If  a  clergyman  was  present,  he  was  requested 
both  to  ask  a  blessing  and  to  return  thanks  after 
dinner."244 

TEMPERANCE 
(1)     His  Personal  Habits 

The  "Temperance  Cause,"  as  such,  had  never 
199 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

been  heard  of  in  Washington's  day,  yet  he  was 
strictly  temperate.  "Not  only  was  he  addicted 
to  no  kind  of  intemperance,  scarcely  ever  tasting 
ardent  spirits  or  exceeding  two  glasses  of  wine — 
which  was  equal  to  total  abstinence  in  our  day — 
and  not  using  tobacco  in  any  shape,  but  he  used 
his  authority  in  the  army  to  the  utmost  to  put 
down  swearing,  games  of  chance,  and  drinking, 
and  irregularities  of  every  kind."245 

(2)     His  Views 

In  a  letter  to  one  of  his  overseers,  Washington 
gives  emphatic  expression  of  his  views  regarding 
the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors,  as  follows: 

I  shall  not  close  this  letter  without  exhorting  you 
to  refrain  from  spirituous  liquors;  they  will  prove 
your  ruin  if  you  do  not.  Consider  how  little  a 
drunken  man  differs  from  a  beast;  the  latter  is  not 
endowed  with  reason,  the  former  deprives  himself  of 
it;  and  when  that  is  the  case,  acts  like  a  brute,  annoy 
ing  and  disturbing  every  one  around  him;  nor  is  this 
all,  nor,  as  it  respects  himself,  the  worst  of  it.  By 
degrees  it  renders  a  person  feeble,  and  not  only  un 
able  to  serve  others  but  to  help  himself;  and  being 
an  act  of  his  own,  he  falls  from  a  state  of  usefulness 
into  contempt,  and  at  length  suffers,  if  not  perishes, 
in  penury  and  want. 

Don't  let  this  be  your  case.  Show  yourself  more  of 
a  man  and  a  Christian  than  to  yield  to  so  intolerable 
a  vice,  which  cannot,  I  am  certain  (to  the  greatest 
200 


WASHINGTON  A  COMMUNICANT 

lover  of  liquor),  give  more  pleasure  to  sip  in  the 
poison  (for  it  is  no  better)  than  the  consequence  of 
it  in  bad  behavior  at  the  moment,  and  the  more 
serious  evils  produced  by  it  afterwards,  must  give 
pain. 

I  am  your  Friend, 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON.246 

ATTENDS  DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH 
In  his  diary  we  find  the  following  for  Sunday, 
July  3,  1791,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania: 

"There  being  no  Episcopal  minister  present 
in  this  place,  I  went  to  hear  morning  service  per 
formed  in  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church — which, 
being  in  that  language  not  a  word  of  which  I 
understood,  I  was  in  no  danger  of  becoming  a 
proselyte  to  its  religion  by  the  eloquence  of  the 
preacher."247 

LETTER  TO  LAFAYETTE 

Writing  to  the  Marquis  LaFayette,  July  28, 
1791,  concerning  the  revolutionary  troubles  in 
France,  he  says,  "We  must,  however,  place  a 
confidence  in  that  Providence  who  rules  events, 
trusting  that  out  of  confusion  He  will  produce 
order,  and,  notwithstanding  the  dark  clouds 
which  may  threaten  at  present,  that  right  will 
ultimately  be  established."248 

ON  THE  DEATH  OF  A  CHILD 
September   8,    1791,    President   Washington 

Age  59]  201  I1791 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

wrote  to  General  and  Mrs.  Knox  on  the  death 
of  their  child,  who  had  been  named  for  him. 
On  this  occasion,  as  on  every  other  when  oppor 
tunity  offered,  he  gave  assurance  of  his  abiding 
faith  in  God.  He  said:  "He  that  gave,  you 
know,  has  the  right  to  take  way.  His  ways  are 
wise — they  are  inscrutable — and  irresistible."249 


1791]  202  [A8e  59 


CHAPTER  XV 
DID  WASHINGTON  SWEAR? 

IN  relation  to  what  is  sometimes  said  about 
the  paroxysms  of  passion  and  terrible  swearing 
of  General  Washington,  a  complete  account  of 
the  particular  instance  which  has  been  so 
grossly  magnified  and  distorted,  is  of  much 
interest.  It  was  when  Washington  received  the 
news  of  General  St.  Glair's  defeat  by  the  Indians, 
which  occurred  November  4,  1791. 

(1)  STATEMENT  BY  His  PRIVATE  SECRETARY 
The  following  extract  from  a  synopsis  of  Gen 
eral  Washington's  private  letters  to  his  secre 
tary,  Mr.  Tobias  Lear,  by  the  Hon.  Richard 
Rush,  of  Philadelphia,  will  throw  some  light  on 
the  subject: 

"An  anecdote  I  derived  from  Colonel  Lear 
shortly  before  his  death  in  1816  may  here  be 
related,  showing  the  height  to  which  his  [Gen 
eral  Washington's]  passion  would  rise,  yet  be 
controlled.  It  belongs  to  his  domestic  life 
which  I  am  dealing  with,  having  occurred  under 
his  own  roof,  whilst  it  marks  public  feeling  the 
most  intense  and  points  to  the  moral  of  his  life. 

Age  59]  203  [1791 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

I  give  it  in  Colonel  Lear's  words  as  nearly  as  I 
can,  having  made  a  note  of  them  at  the  time. 

"Toward  the  close  of  a  winter's  day  in  1791, 
an  officer  in  uniform  was  seen  to  dismount  in 
front  of  the  President's  in  Philadelphia,  and, 
giving  the  bridle  to  his  servant,  knock  at  the 
door  of  his  mansion.  Learning  from  the  porter 
that  the  President  was  at  dinner,  he  said  he  was 
on  public  business  and  had  dispatches  for  the 
President.  A  servant  was  sent  into  the  dining 
room  to  give  the  information  to  Mr.  Lear,  who 
left  the  table  and  went  into  the  hall,  when  the 
officer  repeated  what  he  had  said.  Mr.  Lear 
replied  that,  as  the  President's  secretary,  he 
would  take  charge  of  the  dispatches  and  deliver 
them  at  the  proper  time.  The  officer  made 
answer  that  he  had  just  arrived  from  the  West 
ern  army,  and  his  orders  were  to  deliver  it  with 
all  promptitude,  and  to  the  President  in  person; 
but  that  he  would  wait  his  directions.  Mr.  Lear 
returned,  and  in  a  whisper  imparted  to  the  Presi 
dent  what  had  passed.  General  Washington 
rose  from  the  table  and  went  to  the  officer.  He 
was  back  in  a  short  time,  made  a  word  of  apology 
for  his  absence,  but  no  allusion  to  the  cause  of  it. 
He  had  company  that  day.  Everything  went 
on  as  usual.  Dinner  over,  the  gentlemen  passed 
into  the  drawing  room  of  Mrs.  Washington, 
which  was  open  in  the  evening.  The  General 

1791]  204 


DID  WASHINGTON  SWEAR? 

spoke  courteously  to  every  lady  in  the  room,  as 
was  his  custom.  His  hours  were  early,  and  by 
ten  all  the  company  had  gone.  Mrs.  Washing 
ton  and  Mr.  Lear  remained.  Soon  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  left  the  room.  The  General  now  walked 
backward  and  forward  slowly  for  some  minutes 
without  speaking.  Then  he  sat  down  on  a  sofa 
by  the  fire,  telling  Mr.  Lear  to  sit  down.  To 
this  moment  there  had  been  no  change  in  his 
manner  since  his  interruption  at  table.  Mr. 
Lear  now  perceived  emotion.  This  rising  in 
him,  he  broke  out  suddenly:  'It's  all  over — St. 
Clair's  defeated,  routed;  the  officers  nearly  all 
killed,  the  men  by  wholesale;  the  rout  complete — 
too  shocking  to  think  of — and  a  surprise  into  the 
bargain !' 

"He  uttered  all  this  with  great  vehemence, 
then  he  paused,  got  up  from  the  sofa  and  walked 
about  the  room  several  times,  agitated,  but 
saying  nothing.  Near  the  door  he  stopped 
short  and  stood  still  for  a  few  seconds,  when  his 
wrath  became  terrible. 

:  'Yes'  he  burst  forth,  'HERE,  on  this  very  spot, 
I  took  leave  of  him:  I  wished  him  success  and 
honor.  "You  have  your  instructions,"  I  said, 
"from  the  Secretary  of  War;  I  had  a  strict  eye  to 
them,  and  will  add  but  one  word — BEWARE  OF  A 
SURPRISE!  I  repeat  it,  BEWARE  OF  A  SUR 
PRISE  ;  you  know  how  the  Indians  fight  us."  He 

Age  59]  205  U791 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

went  off  with  that  as  my  last  solemn  warning 
thrown  into  his  ears.  And  yet!  to  suffer  that  army 
to  be  cut  to  pieces,  hacked,  butchered,  tomahawked, 
by  a  surprise — the  very  thing  I  guarded  him 
against!  0  God,  0  God,  he's  worse  than  a  mur 
derer!  How  can  he  answer  it  to  his  country?  The 
blood  of  the  slain  is  upon  him — the  curse  of  the 
widows  and  orphans — the  curse  of  Heaven!' 

"This  torrent  came  out  in  tones  appalling. 
His  very  frame  shook.  'It  was  awful,'  said  Mr. 
Lear.  More  than  once  he  threw  his  hands  up  as 
he  hurled  imprecations  upon  St.  Clair.  Mr. 
Lear  remained  speechless,  awed  into  breathless 
silence. 

"The  roused  chief  sat  down  on  the  sofa  once 
more.  He  seemed  conscious  of  his  passion,  and 
uncomfortable.  He  was  silent.  His  warmth  be 
ginning  to  subside,  he  at  length  said  in  an  altered 
voice,  'This  must  not  go  beyond  this  room.' 
Another  pause  followed — a  longer  one — when 
he  said  in  a  tone  quite  low:  'General  St.  Clair 
shall  have  justice;  I  looked  hastily  through  the  dis 
patches,  saw  the  whole  disaster,  but  not  all  the  par 
ticulars.  I  will  receive  him  without  displeasure; 
I  will  hear  him  without  prejudice;  he  shall  have 
full  justice' 

"  'He  was  now,'  said  Mr.  Lear,  'perfectly 
calm.'  Half  an  hour  had  gone  by.  The  storm 
was  over;  and  no  sign  of  it  was  afterwards  seen 

1791]  206  [Age  59 


DID  WASHINGTON  SWEAR? 

in  his  conduct  or  heard  in  his  conversation. 
The  whole  case  was  investigated  by  Congress. 
St.  Clair  was  exculpated,  and  regained  the  con 
fidence  Washington  had  in  him  when  appointing 
him  to  that  command.  He  had  put  himself  into 
the  thickest  of  the  fight  and  escaped  unhurt, 
though  so  ill  as  to  be  carried  on  a  litter,  and  un 
able  to  mount  his  horse  without  help."250 

(2)  BISHOP  MEADE'S  COMMENT 
"In  relation  to  the  above,  let  it  be  granted 
that  Mr.  Lear  (who  did  not  sympathize  with 
General  Washington's  religious  opinions),  after 
the  lapse  of  more  than  twenty  years,  retained  an 
accurate  recollection  of  all  his  words,  and  that 
Mr.  Rush  fully  understood  them  and  truly 
recorded  them,  as  doubtless  he  did;  yet  what  do 
they  amount  to?  Is  the  exclamation,  *O  God! 
O  God !'  under  his  aroused  feelings,  that  swearing 
since  imputed  to  him,  but  which  from  his  youth 
up  he  had  so  emphatically  condemned  in  his  sol 
diers  as  impious  and  ungentlemanly?"251 

(3)     TESTIMONY  OF  NEPHEWS 
The  Rev.  Dr.  M'Guire  of  Fredericksburg,  Vir 
ginia,  while  preparing  his  volume  on  the  Re 
ligious  Opinions  and  Character  of  Washington, 
having  heard  this  report  emanating  from  some  of 
the  enemies  of  Washington  and  too  readily  ad- 
207 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

mitted  by  some  of  his  friends,  made  a  particular 
inquiry  of  Mr.  Robert  Lewis  (his  father-in-law), 
of  Fredericksburg,  and  Mr.  Laurence  Lewis,  of 
Woodlawn,  Virginia,  two  gentlemen  as  compe 
tent  to  know  the  private  habits  of  Washington 
as  any  others  in  the  land.  They  were  nephews 
of  General  Washington.  The  former  lived  in 
the  family  of  Washington  for  some  time  as  pri 
vate  secretary;  the  latter  was  his  near  neighbor, 
living  on  a  farm  given  him  by  the  General.  Both 
of  them  were  men  of  the  highest  character,  and 
pious  members  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and 
both  declared  that  they  had  never  heard  an 
oath  from  the  lips  of  their  uncle.252 

(4)  TESTIMONY  OF  GENERAL  PORTERFIELD 
In  a  letter  of  General  S.  H.  Lewis,  referred  to 
on  p.  194  telling  of  a  conversation  with  General 
Robert  Porterfield,  he  says:  "I  remarked  that 

I   had    lately    heard    Mr.  -    say,  on  the 

authority  of  Mr.  -  — ,  that  General  Washing 
ton  was  subject  to  violent  fits  of  passion,  and 
that  he  swore  terribly.  General  Porterfield 
said  the  charge  was  false;  that  he  had  known 
General  Washington  personally  for  many  years, 
and  had  never  heard  him  swear  an  oath,  or  in 
any  way  to  profane  the  name  of  God.  'Tell 
Mr.  -  -  for  me/  said  he,  'that  he  had 

much  better  be  reading  his  Bible  than  repeat- 
208 


DID  WASHINGTON  SWEAR? 

ing  such  slanders  on  the  character  of  General 
Washington.'  "253 

(5)     REBUKES  SWEARING 

So  far  back  as  1756  we  find  him  endeavoring 
to  impress  upon  the  soldiers  under  his  command 
a  profound  reverence  for  the  name  and  the 
majesty  of  God,  and  repeatedly,  in  his  public 
orders  during  the  Revolution,  the  inexcusable 
offense  of  profaneness  was  rebuked. 

On  a  certain  occasion  he  had  invited  a  number 
of  officers  to  dine  with  him.  While  at  table 
one  of  them  uttered  an  oath.  General  Wash 
ington  dropped  his  knife  and  fork  in  a  moment, 
and  in  his  deep  undertone,  and  characteristic 
dignity  and  deliberation,  said,  "I  thought  that 
we  all  supposed  ourselves  gentlemen."  He  then 
resumed  his  knife  and  fork  and  went  on  as  be 
fore.  The  remark  struck  like  an  electric  shock, 
and,  as  was  intended,  did  execution,  as  his  ob 
servations  in  such  cases  were  apt  to  do.  No 
person  swore  at  the  table  after  that.  When 
dinner  was  over,  the  officer  referred  to  said  to  a 
companion  that  if  the  General  had  given  him  a 
blow  over  the  head  with  his  sword,  he  could  have 
borne  it,  but  that  the  home  thrust  which  he 
received  was  too  much — it  was  too  much  for  a 
gentleman!254 


209 


CHAPTER  XVI 

RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE  TO  POLITI 
CAL  PROSPERITY 

GOD  ALONE  ABLE  TO  PROTECT  UNITED  STATES 
WRITING   from   Philadelphia  to   John  Arm 
strong,  March  11, 1792,  he  says: 

I  am  sure  there  never  was  a  people  who  had  more 
reason  to  acknowledge  a  divine  interposition  in  their 
affairs  than  those  of  the  United  States,  and  I  should 
be  pained  to  believe  that  they  had  forgotten  that 
agency,  which  was  so  often  manifested  during  our 
Revolution,  or  that  they  failed  to  consider  the 
omnipotence  of  that  God,  who  is  alone  able  to  pro 
tect  them.255 

TRUSTS  GOD  FOR  GUIDANCE 
Edmund  Randolph,  attorney-general,  had 
written  Washington,  urging  him  to  accept  a  re 
election.  Writing  from  Mount  Vernon,  Sunday, 
August  26,  1792,  Washington  said,  "But  as  the 
All-wise  Disposer  of  events  has  hitherto  watched 
over  our  steps,  I  trust  that,  in  the  important  one 
I  may  soon  be  called  upon  to  take,  he  will  mark 
the  course  so  plainly  that  I  cannot  mistake  the 
way."256 

1792]  £10  [Age  60 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

DEPRECATES  RELIGIOUS  DISPUTES 
Writing   from   Philadelphia   to   Sir   Edward 
Newenham,  October  20,  1792,  he  says: 

Of  all  the  animosities  which  have  existed  among 
mankind,  those  which  are  caused  by  a  difference  of 
sentiments  in  religion  appear  to  be  the  most  invet 
erate  and  distressing,  and  ought  most  to  be  depre 
cated.  I  was  in  hopes  that  the  enlightened  and  lib 
eral  policy  which  has  marked  the  present  age  would 
at  least  have  reconciled  Christians  of  every  denomi 
nation  so  far  that  we  should  never  again  see  their 
religious  disputes  carried  to  such  a  pitch  as  to  en 
danger  the  peace  of  society.257 

GIFT  TO  CHARITY 

Following  the  terrible  epidemic  of  yellow 
fever,  the  President  wrote  to  William  White, 
Bishop  of  Pennsylvania,  December  31,  1793, 
concerning  a  contribution  for  the  relief  of  the 
needy  in  Philadelphia,  as  follows: 

It  has  been  my  intention  ever  since  my  return  to 
the  city,  to  contribute  my  mite  towards  the  relief  of 
the  most  needy  inhabitants  of  it.  The  pressure  of 
public  business  hitherto  has  suspended  but  not 
altered  my  resolution.  I  am  at  a  loss,  however,  for 
whose  benefit  to  apply  the  little  I  can  give,  and  in 
whose  hands  to  place  it;  whether  for  the  use  of  the 
fatherless  children  and  widows,  made  so  by  the  late 
calamity,  who  may  find  it  difficult,  whilst  provisions, 
wood,  and  other  necessaries  are  so  dear,  to  support 
Age  60]  211  [1792 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

themselves;  or  to  other  and  better  purposes,  if  any, 
I  know  not,  and  therefore  have  taken  the  liberty  of 
asking  your  advice. 

I  persuade  myself  justice  will  be  done  to  my  mo 
tives  for  giving  you  this  trouble.  To  obtain  informa 
tion,  and  to  render  the  little  I  can,  without  ostenta 
tion  or  mention  of  my  name,  are  the  sole  objects  of 
these  inquiries.258 

DONATION  FOR  THE  EDUCATION  OF  ORPHAN 
CHILDREN 

February  24,  1794,  the  President  writes  to  the 
Rev.  James  Muir,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  at  Alexandria,  Virginia,  in  regard  to  his 
annual  subscription  to  the  Orphan  School  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Muir,  as  follows: 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  12th  instant,  and 
will  direct  my  manager,  Mr.  Pearce,  to  pay  my  an 
nual  donation  for  the  education  of  orphan  children, 
or  the  children  of  indigent  parents,  who  are  unable  to 
be  at  the  expense  themselves. 

I  had  pleasure  in  appropriating  this  money  to  such 
uses,  as  I  always  shall  in  that  of  paying  it.  I  con 
fess,  however,  I  should  derive  satisfaction  from  know 
ing  what  children  have  heretofore  received  the  bene 
fit  of  it,  and  who  are  now  in  the  enjoyment  thereof. 

Never,  since  the  commencement  of  this  institution, 
have  I  received  the  least  information,  except  in  a 
single  instance,  on  this  head,  although  application 
for  it  to  individuals  has  been  frequently  made.  As 
1794]  gig  [Age  62 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

you,  Sir,  appear  to  be  in  the  exercise  of  this  trust,  let 
me  pray  you  to  have  the  goodness  to  gratify  this 
wish  of  mine. 

In  reply  to  this  letter,  Mr.  Muir  gave  a  par 
ticular  account  of  each  of  the  children  who  were 
assisted  in  their  education  by  President  Wash 
ington's  donation  to  the  school.  They  were 
mostly  from  the  poorest  class,  and  some  of  them 
entirely  destitute  of  any  other  aid.  For  many 
years  he  had  given  fifty  pounds  (two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars)  a  year  for  this  purpose,  which 
he  continued  till  his  death;  and  by  will  he  left 
to  the  trustees  of  the  Academy  in  the  town  of 
Alexandria  four  thousand  dollars,  "towards  the 
support  of  a  free  school,  established  at,  and  an 
nexed  to,  the  said  Academy,  for  the  purpose  of 
educating  orphan  children,  or  the  children  of 
such  poor  and  indigent  persons,  as  are  unable  to 
accomplish  it  by  their  own  means."  This  sum 
was  bequeathed  in  perpetuity,  and  the  income 
only  for  the  time  being  was  to  be  appropriated 
by  the  trustees.259 

On  the  same  day,  February  24,  1794,  Wash 
ington  wrote  to  his  manager,  William  Pearce, 
"Enclosed  you  will  find  three  bank  notes 
of  one  hundred  dollars  each;  out  of  which 
pay  the  Rev.  Mr.  Muir,  of  Alexandria,  fifty 
pounds,  and  take  his  signature  to  the  enclosed 
receipt."260 
Age  62]  213  [1794 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

GOD  KNOWS  BEST 

In  a  letter  written  from  Philadelphia  to  his 
manager,  Mr.  William  Pearce,  on  Sunday,  May 
25,  1794,  concerning  injury  to  crops  by  the 
drought,  he  says,  "At  disappointments  and 
losses  which  are  the  effects  of  Providential  acts, 
I  never  repine;  because  I  am  sure  the  all  wise 
Disposer  of  events  knows  better  than  we  do 
what  is  best  for  us,  or  what  we  deserve."261 

ATTENDS  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH 
On  a  trip  to  the  western  part  of  Pennsylvania 
in  connection  with  the  "Whiskey  Rebellion,"  he 
spends  a  Sunday,  October  5,  1794,  at  Carlisle, 
Pennsylvania.  The  following  entry  is  found  in 
his  diary:  "Went  to  the  Presbyterian  Meeting 
and  heard  Doctor  Davidson  preach  a  political 
sermon,  recommendatory  of  order  and  good  gov 
ernment;  and  the  excellence  of  that  of  the 
United  States."262 

SPEECH  TO  CONGRESS 

He  closes  a  speech  to  both  Houses  of  Con 
gress,  November  19,  1794,  saying: 

Let  us  unite,  therefore,  in  imploring  the  Supreme 
Ruler  of  nations  to  spread  His  holy  protection  over 
these  United  States;  to  turn  the  machinations  of  the 
wicked  to  the  confirming  of  our  constitution;  to  en 
able  us  at  all  times  to  root  out  internal  sedition,  and 
1794]  214  [Age  62 


i 


PORTRAIT  OP  WASHINGTON 
Painted  from  life  in  1794.     In  Masonic  uniform. 
Original  painting  in  Masonic  Lodge,  Alexandria,  Va. 

Mrs.  Washington  said  after  his  death  that  it  was  the 
best  picture  of  him,  showing  the  real  Washington,  not 
the  idealized  Washington. 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

put  invasion  to  flight;  to  perpetuate  to  our  country 
that  prosperity,  which  His  goodness  has  already  con 
ferred;  and  to  verify  the  anticipations  of  this  gov 
ernment  being  a  safeguard  to  human  rights.263 

SECOND  NATIONAL  THANKSGIVING 
The    Proclamation    for    a     ?cond    National 
Thanksgiving  was  issued  January  1,  1795,  as 
follows: 

When  we  review  the  calamities  which  afflict  so 
many  other  nations,  the  present  condition  of  the 
United  States  affords  much  matter  of  consolation 
and  satisfaction.  Our  exemption  hitherto  from  for 
eign  war,  and  increasing  prospect  of  the  continuance 
of  that  exemption,  the  great  degree  of  internal  tran 
quillity  we  have  enjoyed,  the  recent  confirmation  of 
that  tranquillity  by  the  suppression  of  an  insurrec 
tion,  which  so  wantonly  threatened  it,  the  happy 
course  of  our  public  affairs  in  general,  the  unexam 
pled  prosperity  of  all  classes  of  our  citizens,  are  cir 
cumstances  which  peculiarly  mark  our  situation  with 
indications  of  the  Divine  Beneficence  towards  us. 
In  such  a  state  of  things  it  is  in  an  especial  manner 
our  duty  as  a  people,  with  devout  reverence  and  af- 
fectionate  gratitude,  to  acknowledge  our  many  and 
great  obligations  to  Almighty  God,  and  to  implore 
Him  to  continue  and  confirm  the  blessings  we  ex 
perience. 

Deeply  penetrated  with  this  sentiment,  I,  George 
Washington,  President  of  the  United  States,  do  rec 
ommend  to  all  religious  societies  and  denominations, 
Age  63]  215  [1795 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

and  to  all  persons  whomsoever  within  the  United 
States,  to  set  apart  and  observe  Thursday,  the  19th 
day  of  February  next,  as  a  day  of  public  thansksgiv- 
ing  and  prayer,  and  on  that  day  to  meet  together  and 
render  their  sincere  and  hearty  thanks  to  the  Great 
Ruler  of  nations  for  the  manifold  and  signal  mercies 
which  distinguish  our  lot  as  a  nation;  particularly 
for  the  possession  of  constitutions  of  government, 
which  unite,  and  by  their  union  establish,  liberty 
with  order;  for  the  preservation  of  our  peace,  foreign 
and  domestic;  for  the  seasonable  control  which  has 
been  given  to  a  spirit  of  disorder  in  the  suppression 
of  the  late  insurrection;  and,  generally,  for  the  pros 
perous  course  of  our  affairs  public  and  private;  and  at 
the  same  time  humbly  and  fervently  to  beseech  the 
kind  Author  of  those  blessings  graciously  to  prolong 
them  to  us;  to  imprint  on  our  hearts  a  deep  and  sol 
emn  sense  of  our  obligations  to  Him  for  them;  to 
teach  us  rightly  to  estimate  their  immense  value;  to 
preserve  us  from  the  arrogance  of  prosperity,  and 
from  hazarding  the  advantages  we  enjoy  by  the  de 
lusive  pursuits,  to  dispose  us  to  merit  the  continu 
ance  of  His  favors  by  not  abusing  them,  by  our  grati 
tude  for  them,  and  by  a  correspondent  conduct  as 
citizens  and  as  men;  to  render  this  country  more  and 
more  a  safe  and  propitious  asylum  for  the  unfortu 
nate  of  other  countries;  to  extend  among  us  true  and 
useful  knowledge;  to  diffuse  and  establish  habits  of 
sobriety,  order,  morality,  and  piety;  and  finally  to 
impart  all  the  blessings  we  possess,  or  ask  for  our 
selves,  to  the  whole  family  of  mankind. 
1795]  21 6  [Age  63 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

In  testimony  whereof,  I  have  caused  the  seal  of  the 
United  States  of  America  to  be  affixed  to  these  pres 
ents,  and  signed  the  same  with  my  hand.  Done  at 
the  city  of  Philadelphia,  this  first  day  of  January, 
one  thousand  seven  hundred  and  ninty-five  and  of 
the  independence  of  the  United  States  of  America 
the  nineteenth.264 

OBSERVES  THANKSGIVING  DAY 
Thursday,  February  19,  1795,  being  the  day 
appointed  for  "public  thanksgiving  and  prayer," 
President  Washington  attends  service  in  Christ 
Church.265 

SPEECH  TO  CONGRESS 

A  speech  to  both  Houses  of  Congress,  De 
cember  8,  1795,  begins  as  follows: 

I  trust  I  do  not  deceive  myself  while  I  indulge  the 
persuasion  that  I  have  never  met  you  at  any  period 
when,  more  than  at  present,  the  situation  of  our 
public  affairs  has  afforded  just  cause  for  mutual 
congratulation,  and  for  inviting  you  to  join  with 
me  in  profound  gratitude  to  the  Author  of  all  good, 
for  the  numerous  and  extraordinary  blessings  we 
enjoy.266 

RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE  TO  POLITICAL  PROS 
PERITY 

September  17,  1796,  President  Washington 
issued  what  is  known  as  his  Farewell  Address  to 

Age  63]  217  U795 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  people  of  the  United  States.     The  following 
extracts  show  his  deep  religious  spirit: 

Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to 
political  prosperity,  Religion  and  Morality  are  in 
dispensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man 
claim  the  tribute  of  Patriotism,  who  should  labor  to 
subvert  these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these 
firmest  props  of  the  duties  of  Men  and  Citizens. 
The  mere  Politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man, 
ought  to  respect  and  to  cherish  them.  A  volume 
could  not  trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and 
public  felicity.  Let  it  simply  be  asked,  Where  is  the 
security  for  property,  for  reputation,  for  life,  if  the 
sense  of  religious  obligation  desert  the  oaths  which 
are  the  instruments  of  investigation  in  Courts  of  Jus 
tice?  And  let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposi 
tion  that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion. 
Whatever  may  be  conceded  to  the  influence  of  refined 
education  on  minds  of  peculiar  structure,  reason  and 
experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that  national 
morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious  principle. 

It  is  substantially  true  that  virtue  or  morality  is  a 
necessary  spring  of  popular  government.  The  rule, 
indeed,  extends  with  more  or  less  force  to  every 
species  of  free  government.  Who,  that  is  a  sincere 
friend  to  it,  can  look  with  indifference  upon  attempts 
to  shake  the  foundation  of  the  fabric? 

Observe  good  faith  and  justice  towards  all  Nations; 
cultivate  peace  and  harmony  with  all.  Religion  and 
Morality  enjoin  this  conduct;  and  can  it  be  that  good 
1796]  gig  [Age  64 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

policy  does  not  equally  enjoin  it?  It  will  be  worthy 
of  a  free,  enlightened,  and,  at  no  distant  period,  a 
great  Nation,  to  give  to  mankind  the  magnanimous 
and  too  novel  example  of  a  people  always  guided  by 
an  exalted  justice  and  benevolence.  Who  can  doubt, 
that,  in  the  course  of  time  and  things,  the  fruits  of 
such  a  plan  would  richly  repay  any  temporary  ad 
vantages,  which  might  be  lost  by  a  steady  adherence 
to  it?  Can  it  be  that  Providence  has  not  connected 
the  permanent  felicity  of  a  Nation  with  its  Virtue? 
The  experiment,  at  least,  is  recommended  by  every 
sentiment  which  ennobles  human  nature.267 

THE  GREAT  HIGH  PRIEST  OF  THE  NATION 
"No  candid  man  can  read  these  and  other  ex 
pressions  in  the  public  addresses  of  Washing 
ton,  without  acknowledging  that,  as  though  he 
were  the  great  high  priest  of  the  nation,  availing 
himself  of  his  position  and  of  the  confidence 
reposed  in  him,  he  was  raising  his  warning  voice 
against  that  infidelity  which  was  desolating 
France  and  threatening  our  own  land." 

"Is  is  too  much  to  say  that  the  communica 
tions  of  no  king,  ruler,  general,  or  statesman  in 
Christendom,"  except  Abraham  Lincoln,  "ever 
so  abounded  in  expressions  of  pious  dependence 
on  God?"268 

LETTER  TO  ADOPTED  SON  IN  SCHOOL 
Extract  from  a  letter  to  George  Washington 

Age  64]  219  [1796 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Parke  Custis,  his  adopted  son,  written  from 
Philadelphia,  November  28,  1796,  showing  the 
high  value  he  places  upon  religious  obligations: 
The  assurances  you  give  me  of  applying  diligently 
to  your  studies,  and  fulfilling  those  obligations  which 
are  enjoined  by  your  Creator  and  due  to  His  creatures, 
are  highly  pleasing  and  satisfactory  to  me.  I  rejoice 
in  it  on  two  accounts;  first,  as  it  is  the  sure  means  of 
laying  the  foundation  of  your  own  happiness,  and 
rendering  you,  if  it  should  please  God  to  spare  your 
life,  a  useful  member  of  society  hereafter;  and 
secondly,  that  I  may,  if  I  live  to  enjoy  the  pleasure, 
reflect  that  I  have  been,  in  some  degree,  instrumental 
in  affecting  these  purposes.269 

LAST  SPEECH  TO  CONGRESS 
He  begins  his  last  speech  to  both  Houses  of 
Congress,  December  7,  1796,  saying: 

In  recurring  to  the  internal  situation  of  our  coun 
try,  since  I  last  had  the  pleasure  to  address  you,  I 
find  ample  reason  for  a  renewed  expression  of  that 
gratitude  to  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  which  a  con 
tinued  series  of  prosperity  has  so  often  and  so  justly 
called  forth. 

He  closes  by  saying: 

The  situation  in  which  I  now  stand,  for  the  last 
time,  in  the  midst  of  the  representatives  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  naturally  recalls  the  period 
when  the  administration  of  the  present  form  of  gov- 
1796]  220  [Age  64 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

eminent  commenced;  and  I  cannot  omit  the  occasion 
to  congratulate  you  and  my  country,  on  the  success 
of  the  experiment,  nor  to  repeat  my  fervent  supplica 
tions  to  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe  and  Sov 
ereign  Arbiter  of  the  United  States,  that  the  virtue 
and  happiness  of  the  people  may  be  preserved;  and 
that  the  government,  which  they  have  instituted 
for  the  protection  of  their  liberties,  may  be  per 
petual.270 

ANOTHER  LETTER  TO  His  ADOPTED  SON 
Writing  from  Philadelphia  to  George  Wash 
ington  Parke  Custis,  December  19,  1796,  he  em 
phasizes  again  "duties  to  God  and  man": 

But  as  you  are  well  acquainted  with  my  sentiments 
on  this  subject,  and  you  know  how  anxious  all  your 
friends  are  to  see  you  enter  upon  the  grand  theatre  of 
life,  with  the  advantages  of  a  finished  education,  a 
highly  cultivated  mind,  and  a  proper  sense  of  your 
duties  to  God  and  man,  I  shall  only  add  one  sentiment 
more  before  I  close  this  letter  (which,  as  I  have  others 
to  write,  will  hardly  be  in  time  for  the  mail),  and  that 
is,  to  pay  due  respect  and  obedience  to  your  tutors, 
and  affectionate  reverence  to  the  president  of  the 
college,  whose  character  merits  your  highest  re 
gards.271 

ADDRESS  OF  PHILADELPHIA  CLERGY 
(1)     Written  by  the  Rev.  Ashabel  Green,  D.D. 
"On  the  4th  of  March  [1797],  when  he  carried 

Age  64]  221  [1796 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

into  effect  his  purpose  of  retirement,  which  he 
had  previously  announced,  the  city  clergy 
waited  on  him  with  an  address;  which,  with  his 
answer,  was  published  in  the  newspapers  of  the 
day.  Mr.  Jefferson,  in  a  letter  published  after 
his  death,  speaks  of  the  design  of  this  address, 
and  of  the  character  of  its  answer,  as  indicating 
that  Washington  was  suspected  of  infidelity, 
and  broadly  intimates  that  such  a  suspicion  was 
just.  As  to  the  design  of  the  address,  I  may  be 
allowed  to  say  that  Mr.  Jefferson's  remarks  are 
incorrect,  since  by  the  appointment  of  my  cleri 
cal  brethren,  it  was  penned  by  myself,  and  I 
have  not  a  doubt  that  the  whole  imputation  is 
utterly  groundless."272 

(2)     The  Address  to  Washington 

The  address  shows  how  the  clergy  regarded 
Washington's  religious  character.  It  is  as  fol 
lows: 

To  George  Washington,  President  of  the  United 

States : 

On  this  day,  which  becomes  important  in  the  an 
nals  of  America,  as  marking  the  close  of  a  splendid 
public  life  devoted  for  near  half  a  century  to  the 
service  of  your  country,  we,  the  undersigned  clergy  of 
different  denominations  residing  in  and  near  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  beg  leave  to  join  the  voice  of  our 
fellow-citizens,  in  expressing  a  deep  sense  of  your 
1797]  222  [Age  65 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

public  services,  in  every  department  of  trust  and 
authority  committed  to  you.  But  in  our  special 
character  as  ministers  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  we  are 
more  immediately  bound  to  acknowledge  the  coun 
tenance  which  you  have  uniformly  given  to  His  holy 
religion. 

In  your  public  character  we  have  uniformly  beheld 
the  edifying  example  of  a  civil  ruler  always  acknowl 
edging  the  superintendence  of  divine  Providence  in  the 
affairs  of  men;  and  confirming  that  example  by  the 
powerful  recommendation  of  religion  and  morality, 
as  the  firmest  basis  of  social  happiness — more  espe 
cially  in  the  following  language  of  your  affectionate 
parting  address  to  your  fellow-citizens: 

"Of  all  the  dispositions  and  habits  which  lead  to 
political  prosperity,  religion  and  morality  are  indis 
pensable  supports.  In  vain  would  that  man  claim 
the  tribute  of  patriotism  who  should  labor  to  subvert 
these  great  pillars  of  human  happiness,  these  firmest 
props  of  the  duties  of  men  and  citizens.  The  mere 
politician,  equally  with  the  pious  man,  ought  to  re 
spect  and  to  cherish  them.  A  volume  could  not 
trace  all  their  connections  with  private  and  public 
felicity.  Let  us  with  caution  indulge  the  supposition 
that  morality  can  be  maintained  without  religion. 
Reason  and  experience  both  forbid  us  to  expect  that 
national  morality  can  prevail  in  exclusion  of  religious 
principles." 

Should  the  importance  of  these  just  and  pious  sen 
timents  be  duly  appreciated  and  regarded,  we  con 
fidently  trust  that  the  prayers  you  have  offered  for 
Age  65]  023  I1797 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

the  prosperity  of  our  common  country  will  be 
answered.  In  these  prayers  we  most  fervently  unite ; 
and  with  equal  fervor  we  join  in  those  which  the 
numerous  public  bodies  that  represent  the  citizens 
of  these  States  are  offering  for  their  beloved  chief. 
We  most  devoutly  implore  the  divine  blessing  to 
attend  you  in  your  retirement,  to  make  it  in  all 
respects  comfortable  to  you,  to  satisfy  you  with 
length  of  days;  and  finally  to  receive  you  into  hap 
piness  and  glory  infinitely  greater  than  this  world 
can  bestow.273 

This  address  was  signed  by  William  White 
(Episcopal  bishop),  Ashabel  Green,  and  twenty- 
three  other  ministers. 

(3)     Washington's  Reply 

Not  to  acknowledge,  with  gratitude  and  sensibility, 
the  affectionate  addresses  and  benevolent  wishes  of 
my  fellow-citizens  on  my  retiring  from  public  life 
would  prove  that  I  have  been  unworthy  of  the  confi 
dence  which  they  have  been  pleased  to  repose  in  me. 

And  among  those  public  testimonies  of  attachment 
and  approbation  none  can  be  more  grateful  than  that 
of  so  respectable  a  body  as  yours. 

Believing,  as  I  do,  that  Religion  and  Morality  are 
the  essential  pillars  of  civil  society,  I  view  with  un 
speakable  pleasure  that  harmony  and  brotherly  love 
which  characterizes  the  clergy  of  different  denomina 
tions,  as  well  in  this  as  in  other  parts  of  the  United 
States,  exhibiting  to  the  world  a  new  and  interesting 
1797] 


RELIGION  INDISPENSABLE 

spectacle,  at  once  the  pride  of  our  country  and  the 
surest  basis  of  universal  harmony. 

That  your  labors  for  the  good  of  mankind  may  be 
crowned  with  success,  that  your  temporal  employ 
ments  may  be  commensurate  with  your  merits,  and 
that  the  future  reward  of  good  and  faithful  servants 
may  be  yours,  I  shall  not  cease  to  supplicate  the 
Divine  Author  of  life  and  felicity.274 


Age  65]  225  [1797 


CHAPTER  XVII 
EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

FORSAKES  NOT  THE  HOUSE  OF  GOD 
EVEN  down  to  his  old  age  the  Sabbath  day 
finds  him  in  his  place  in  church.     In  his  diary 
is  this  entry:  "1798.     Sunday,  September  30 — 
Went  to  Church  in  Alexandria."275 

LETTER  TO  PRESIDENT  ADAMS 
In  a  letter  dated  Mount  Vernon,  July  13, 
1798,  to  John  Adams,  President  of  the  United 
States,  General  Washington  said: 

Satisfied,  therefore,  that  you  have  sincerely  wished 
and  endeavored  to  avert  war,  and  exhausted,  to  the 
last  drop,  the  cup  of  reconciliation,  we  can,  with  pure 
hearts,  appeal  to  Heaven  for  the  justice  of  our 
cause;  and  may  confidently  trust  the  final  result  to 
that  kind  Providence  who  has,  heretofore,  and  so 
often,  signally  favored  the  people  of  these  United 
States.276 

WILL  NOT  SELL  SLAVES 
August  17,  1799,  General  Washington  wrote 
his  nephew  Robert  Lewis  in  regard  to  slavery, 
saying: 

1798]  22  [Age  66 


EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

To  sell  the  overplus  I  cannot  because  I  am  preju 
diced  against  this  kind  of  traffic  in  the  human  species; 
to  hire  them  out  is  almost  as  bad,  because  they  can 
not  be  disposed  of  in  families  to  any  advantage,  and 
to  divide  families  I  have  an  aversion.277 

DEATH  OF  His  BROTHER 
Sunday,   September  22,   1799,  he  writes   to 
Colonel  Burgess  Ball  concerning  the  death  of 
his  [Washington's]  brother,  the  last  of  the  fam 
ily  except  himself,  as  follows: 

Your  letter  of  the  16th  inst.  has  been  received,  in 
forming  me  of  the  death  of  my  brother  [Charles]. 

The  death  of  relations  always  produces  awful  and 
affecting  emotions  under  whatever  circumstances  it 
may  happen.  That  of  my  brother  has  been  long  ex 
pected;  and  his  latter  days,  so  uncomfortable  to 
himself,  must  have  prepared  all  around  him  for  the 
stroke,  though  painful  in  effect. 

I  was  the  first,  and  am,  now,  the  last  of  my  father's 
children,  by  the  second  marriage,  who  remain. 

When  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  follow  them  is 
known  only  to  the  Giver  of  Life.  When  the  summons 
comes  I  shall  endeavor  to  obey  it  with  a  good  grace.278 

ATTENDS  CHRIST  CHURCH  AGAIN 
After  his  retirement  from  the  chair  of  state, 
Washington  still  continued  his  religious  habits 
in  spirit  and  practice.     The  church  in  Alexan 
dria  was  again  his  place  of  worship.     The  dis- 

Age  67]  227  [1799 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

tance,  indeed,  was  ten  miles,  and  yet  his  pew 
was  seldom  unoccupied  on  the  Lord's  Day.279 

WASHINGTON  AT  CHURCH  IN  ALEXANDRIA 
Reverend  M'Guire,  Episcopal  rector  at  Fred- 
ericksburg,  Virginia,  says  that,  many  years  since 
[this  was  written  in  1835],  he  had  the  following 
circumstances  from  a  valued  female  friend,  in 
relation  to  the  churchgoing  habit  of  the  Ex- 
President: 

"In  the  summer  of  1799,"  said  Mrs.  M.,  "I 
was  in  Alexandria,  on  a  visit  to  the  family  of 
Mr.  H.,  with  whom  I  was  connected  by  the  ties 
of  relationship.  Whilst  there  I  expressed  a 
wish  to  see  General  Washington,  as  I  had  never 
enjoyed  that  pleasure.  My  friend,  Mrs.  H., 
observed,  'You  will  certainly  see  him  on  Sunday, 
as  he  is  never  absent  from  church  when  he  can 
get  there;  and  as  he  often  dines  with  us,  we  will 
ask  him  on  that  day,  when  you  will  have  a  better 
opportunity  of  seeing  him/  Accordingly,  we 
all  repaired  to  church  on  Sunday,  and  seated  in 
Mr.  H.'s  large  double  pew,  I  kept  my  eyes  upon 
the  door,  looking  for  the  venerable  form  of  him 
I  had  so  long  desired  to  see.  Many  persons 
entered  the  doors,  but  none  came  up  to  my  im 
pressions  of  General  Washington's  appearance. 
At  length,  a  person  of  noble  and  majestic  figure 
entered,  and  the  conviction  was  instantaneous 

1799]  ggS  [A«e  67 


EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

that  I  beheld  the  Father  of  his  Country.  It 
was  so! — my  friend  at  that  moment  intimated 
the  fact  to  me.  He  walked  to  his  pew,  at  the 
upper  part  of  the  church,  and  demeaned  himself 
throughout  the  services  of  the  day  with  that 
gravity  and  propriety  becoming  the  place  and 
his  own  high  character.  After  the  services  were 
concluded  we  waited  for  him  at  the  door,  for  his 
pew  being  near  the  pulpit  he  was  among  the 
last  that  came  out — when  Mrs.  H.  invited  him 
to  dine  with  us.  He  declined,  however,  the  in 
vitation,  observing,  as  he  looked  at  the  sky,  that 
he  thought  there  were  appearances  of  a  thunder 
storm  in  the  afternoon,  and  he  believed  he 
would  return  home  for  dinner." 

This  occurrence  is  introduced,  not  for  any 
peculiar  interest  belonging  to  it,  but  merely 
for  confirmation:  showing  the  punctuality  and 
conscientiousness  with  which  Washington  at 
tended  to  the  duty  in  question,  even  to  old  age. 
He  was  now  within  six  months  of  his  death, 
having  reached  his  sixty-eighth  year;  and  yet 
he  is  not  to  be  detained  on  the  Sabbath  from 
the  house  of  God,  either  by  distance  or  the  fer 
vors  of  a  summer  sun.280 

PRIVATE  DEVOTIONS 

"It  may  most  positively  be  affirmed  that  the 
impression  on  the  minds  of  his  family  was  that 

Age  67]  229  I1799 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

when  on  each  night  he  regularly  took  his  candle 
and  went  to  his  study  at  nine  o'clock  and  re 
mained  there  until  ten,  it  was  for  the  purpose  of 
reading  the  Scriptures  and  prayer.  It  is  af 
firmed  by  more  than  one  that  he  has  been  seen 
there  on  his  knees  and  also  been  heard  at  his 
prayers.  In  like  manner  it  is  believed  that 
when  at  five  o'clock  each  morning,  winter  and 
summer,  he  went  to  that  same  study,  a  portion  of 
time  was  then  spent  in  the  same  way.  It  is  also 
well  known  that  it  was  the  impression  in  the 
army  that  Washington,  either  in  his  tent  or  in 
his  room,  practiced  the  same  thing.  One  testi 
fies  to  having  seen  him  on  more  than  one  occa 
sion  thus  engaged  on  his  bended  knees.  It  is 
firmly  believed  that  when  in  crowded  lodgings  at 
Valley  Forge,  where  everything  was  unfavor 
able  to  private  devotions,  his  frequent  visits  to 
a  neighboring  wood  were  for  this  purpose.  It  is 
also  a  fact  well  known  to  the  family  that,  when 
prevented  from  public  worship,  he  used  to  read 
the  Scriptures  and  other  books  with  Mrs.  Wash 
ington  in  her  chamber."281 

GRACE  AT  TABLE 

Washington's  religious  habits  were  the  same 

in  private  life  as  when  he  occupied  his  official 

position.     The  artist,  Sharpies,  who  spent  some 

time  at    Mount  Vernon  painting  Washington's 

230 


EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

picture,  says:  "I  take  all  my  meals  with  the 
Chief  at  Mount  Vernon;  they  are  most  elegantly 
served,  but  without  the  least  profusion,  and  the 
attendance  is  of  military  precision.  I  observed 
that  we  never  partook  of  food  without  the  Gen 
eral  offering  grace  to  the  Giver,  so  also  at  the 
close  of  every  repast."282 

IMPRESSED  BY  A  DREAM 
For  several  months  before  his  death  Washing 
ton  appears  to  have  had  at  times  a  presentiment 
of  near  approaching  death.  July  9th  he  exe 
cuted  his  last  will  and  testament.  He  seems  to 
have  communicated  his  forebodings  to  Mrs. 
Washington,  who,  when  she  was  recovering  from 
a  severe  illness,  wrote  to  a  kinswoman  in  New 
Kent,  Virginia,  September  18,  1799: 

"At  midsummer  the  General  had  a  dream  so 
deeply  impressed  on  his  mind  that  he  could  not 
shake  it  off  for  several  days.  He  dreamed  that 
he  and  I  were  sitting  in  the  summer-house,  con 
versing  about  the  happy  life  we  had  spent,  and 
looking  forward  to  many  more  years  on  the 
earth,  when  suddenly  there  was  a  great  light  all 
around  us,  and  then  an  almost  invisible  figure 
of  a  sweet  angel  stood  by  my  side  and  whispered 
in  my  ear.  I  suddenly  turned  pale  and  then 
began  to  vanish  from  his  sight  and  he  was  left 
alone.  I  had  just  risen  from  the  bed  when  he 

Age  67]  231  [1799 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

awoke  and  told  me  his  dream,  saying,  'You 
know  a  contrary  result  indicated  by  dreams  may 
be  expected.  I  may  soon  leave  you'  I  tried 
to  drive  from  his  mind  the  sadness  that  had 
taken  possession  of  it,  by  laughing  at  the  ab 
surdity  of  being  disturbed  by  an  idle  dream, 
which,  at  the  worst,  indicated  that  I  would  not 
be  taken  from  him;  but  I  could  not,  and  it  was 
not  until  after  dinner  that  he  recovered  any 
cheerfulness.  I  found  in  the  library,  a  few  days 
afterwards,  some  scraps  of  paper  which  showed 
that  he  had  been  making  a  Will,  and  had  copied 
it.  When  I  was  so  very  sick,  lately,  I  thought 
of  this  dream,  and  concluded  my  time  had  come, 
and  that  I  should  be  taken  first."283 

"I  DIE  HARD" 

About  five  o'clock  [Saturday,  December  14, 
1799]  Dr.  Craik  [the  family  physician]  came 
again  into  the  room,  and,  upon  going  to  the 
bedside,  the  General  said  to  him,  "Doctor,  I  die 
hard,  but  I  am  not  afraid  to  go."284 

"NoT  AFRAID  TO  DIE" 

Silent  and  sad  his  physicians  sat  by  his  bed 
side,  looking  on  him  as  he  lay  panting  for  breath. 
They  thought  on  the  past,  and  the  tears  welled 
in  their  eyes.  He  marked  it,  and,  stretching 
out  his  hand  to  them,  and  shaking  his  head,  said, 
1799]  232  lA«e  67 


EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

"0  no!  don't!  don't!"  then  with  a  delightful  smile 
he  added,  "I  am  dying,  gentlemen,  but,  thank 
God,  I  am  not  afraid  to  die."285 

"FOR  MY  GOOD" 

Once  or  twice  he  was  heard  to  say,  "I  should 
have  been  glad,  had  it  pleased  God,  to  die  a 
little  easier,  but  I  doubt  not  it  is  for  my  good."286 

WISHED  TO  BE  LEFT  ALONE 
"Feeling  that  the  hour  of  his  departure  out 
of  this  world  was  at  hand,  he  desired  that  every 
body  would  quit  the  room.  They  all  went  out; 
and,  according  to  his  wish,  left  him — with  his 
God. 

"There,  by  himself,  like  Moses  alone  on  the 
top  of  Pisgah,  he  seeks  the  face  of  God."287 

It  seems  that  he  desired  to  be  alone  a  little 
while  for  private  prayer. 

"  'Tis  WELL" 

His  secretary,  Tobias  Lear,  says  that  "about 
ten  o'clock  he  made  several  attempts  to  speak 
to  me  before  he  could  effect  it.  At  length  he 
said:  *I  am  just  going.  Have  me  decently 
buried;  and  do  not  let  my  body  be  put  into 
the  vault  in  less  than  three  days  after  I  am 
dead.' 

"I  bowed  assent,  for  I  could  not  speak.     He 

Age  67J  233  [1799 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

then  looked  at  me  again  and  said:     'Do  you 
understand  me?' 

"I  replied,  'Yes!' 

"  <  'Tis  well,'  said  he,"288 

LAST  WORDS  OF  WASHINGTON 
"Feeling  that  the  silver  cord  of  life  is  loosing, 
and  that  his  spirit  is  ready  to  quit  her  old  com 
panion,  the  body,  he  extends  himself  on  his  bed 
—closes  his  eyes  for  the  last  time  with  his  own 
hands — folds  his  arms  decently  on  his  breast, 
then  breathing  out,  'Father  of  mercies,  take  me 
to  thyself,'— he  falls  asleep."289 

SUBMISSION  TO  THE  DIVINE  WILL 
"He  expired  in  the  sixty -eighth  year  of  his  age, 
and  in  full  possession  of  his  mental  faculties;  ex 
hibiting  in  his  short  and  painful  illness,  and  in 
his  death,  the  same  example  of  patience,  forti 
tude,  and  submission  to  the  divine  will,  which  he 
had  shown  in  all  the  acts  of  his  life."290 

MRS.  WASHINGTON  IN  PRAYER 
Mrs.  Washington's  grandson,  who  lived  at 
Mount  Vernon,  says:  "In  that  last  hour,  prayer 
was  not  wanting  at  the  throne  of  grace.  Close 
to  the  couch  of  the  sufferer,  resting  her  head 
upon  that  ancient  book,  with  which  she  had 
been  wont  to  hold  pious  communion  a  portion  of 
1799]  234  [Age  67 


EVEN  DOWN  TO  OLD  AGE 

every  day  for  more  than  half  a  century,  was  the 
venerable  consort  [Mrs.  Washington]  absorbed 
in  silent  prayer."291 

"  'Tis  WELL" 

At  the  moment  of  her  husband's  departure, 
Mrs.  Washington,  having  arisen  from  her  knees, 
was  sitting  near  the  foot  of  the  bed,  where  she 
had  been  much  of  the  time  for  almost  twenty- 
four  hours. 

"While  we  were  all  fixed  in  silent  grief," 
wrote  Mr.  Lear,  "Mrs.  Washington  asked,  with 
a  firm  and  collected  voice,  'Is  he  gone?'  I 
could  not  speak,  but  held  up  my  hand  as  a 
signal  that  he  was  no  more.  '  'Tis  well,'  she 
said  in  the  same  voice;  'all  is  now  over.  I  shall 
soon  follow  him;  I  have  no  more  trials  to  pass 
through.'  "292 

MRS.  WASHINGTON'S  DAILY  DEVOTIONS 
Mrs.  Washington's  grandson,  who  was  adopted 
by  Mr.  Washington  when  he  was  six  months 
old,  and  who  was  in  his  nineteenth  year  when 
Washington  died,  says  of  his  grandmother's  life 
long  habit:  "After  breakfast  she  retired  for  an 
hour  to  her  chamber,  which  hour  was  spent  in 
prayer  and  reading  the  Holy  Scriptures,  a  prac 
tice  that  she  never  omitted  during  half  a  century 
of  her  varied  life."293 

Age  67]  235  [1799 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

DEATH  OF  MRS.  WASHINGTON 
Her  grandson  gives  the  following  account  of 
her  death: 

"In  a  little  more  than  two  years  from  the 
demise  of  the  chief  Mrs.  Washington  became 
alarmingly  ill  from  an  attack  of  bilious  fever. 
From  her  advanced  age,  the  sorrow  that  had 
preyed  upon  her  spirits,  and  the  severity  of  the 
attack,  the  family  physician  gave  but  little  hope 
of  a  favorable  issue.  The  lady  herself  was  per 
fectly  aware  that  her  hour  was  nigh;  she  as 
sembled  her  grandchildren  at  her  bedside,  dis 
coursed  to  them  on  their  respective  duties 
through  life,  spoke  of  the  happy  influence  of  re 
ligion  upon  the  affairs  of  this  world,  of  the  con 
solations  they  had  afforded  her  in  many  and  try 
ing  afflictions,  and  the  hopes  that  they  held  out 
of  a  blessed  immortality;  and  then,  surrounded 
by  her  weeping  relatives,  friends,  and  domestics, 
the  venerable  relict  of  Washington  resigned  her 
life  into  the  hands  of  her  Creator,  in  the  seventy- 
first  year  of  her  age."294 


336 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
WASHINGTON'S  WILL 

PROBABLY  there  is  no  better  index  to  a  man's 
life  and  the  secret  of  his  heart  than  his  "last  will 
and  testament,"  when  he  calmly  faces  death 
and  the  realities  of  the  hereafter.  In  the  final 
accounting  of  his  stewardship,  his  true  character 
is  manifested. 

Four  items  in  his  will  are  of  special  interest  at 
this  time,  as  they  indicate  his  benevolent  char 
acter: 

(1)     GIVES  BIBLE 

"To  the  reverend,  now  Bryan  Lord  Fairfax,  I 
give  a  Bible,  in  three  large  folio  volumes,  with  notes 
presented  to  me  by  the  Rt.  Rev.  Thomas  Wilson, 
bishop  of  Sodor  and  Man."295 

(2)     PROVIDES  FOR  RELEASE  OF  DEBT  AND 

SLAVES 

"Item. — The  balance  due  me  from  the  estate  of 
Bartholomew Dandridge,  deceased  (my  wife's  brother), 
and  which  amounted,  on  the  first  day  of  October, 
1795,  to  425  1.  [pounds]  (as  will  appear  by  an  account 
rendered  by  his  deceased  son,  John  Dandridge,  who 
was  the  acting  executor  of  his  father's  will),  I  release 
and  acquit  from  the  payment  thereof.  And  the 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

negroes  (then  33  in  number)  formerly  belonging  to 
the  said  estate,  who  were  taken  in  execution,  sold, 

and  purchased  in  on  my  account,  in  the  year , 

and  ever  since  have  remained  in  the  possession  and  to 
the  use  of  Mary,  widow  of  the  said  Earth.  Dan- 
dridge,  with  their  increase,  it  is  my  will  and  desire, 
shall  continue  and  be  in  her  possession,  without  pay 
ing  any  hire,  or  making  compensation  for  the  same, 
for  the  time  past^or  to  come,  during  her  natural  life; 
at  the  expiration  of  which,  I  direct,  that  all  of  them 
who  are  40  years  old  and  upwards,  shall  receive  their 
freedom;  all  under  that  age  and  above  16,  shall  serve 
seven  years,  and  no  longer;  and  all  under  16  years, 
shall  serve  until  they  are  25  years  of  age,  and  then 
be  free.  And  to  avoid  disputes  respecting  the  ages 
of  any  of  these  negroes,  they  are  to  be  taken  into  the 
court  of  the  county  in  which  they  reside,  and  the 
judgment  thereof,  in  this  relation,  shall  be  final  and 
record  made  thereof,  which  may  be  adduced  as  evi 
dence  at  any  time  thereafter,  if  disputes  should  arise 
concerning  the  same.  And  I  further  direct,  that  the 
heirs  of  the  said  Earth.  Dandridge  shall  equally 
share  the  benefits  arising  from  the  services  of  the  said 
negroes,  according  to  the  tenor  of  this  devise,  upon 
the  decease  of  their  mother."296 

(3)  PROVIDES  FOR  FREEDOM  OF  SLAVES 

"Item. — Upon  the  decease  of  my  wife,  it  is  my  will 

and  desire,  that  all  the  slaves  which  I  hold  in  my  own 

right,  shall  receive  their  freedom.     To  emancipate 

them  during  her  life,  would,  though  earnestly  wished 

238 


WASHINGTON'S  WILL 

by  me,  be  attended  with  such  insuperable  difficul 
ties,  on  account  of  their  intermixture  by  marriages  with 
the  dower  negroes,  as  to  excite  the  most  painful  sen 
sations,  if  not  disagreeable  consequences  to  the  latter, 
while  both  descriptions  are  in  the  occupancy  of  the 
same  proprietor;  it  not  being  in  my  power,  under 
the  tenure  by  which  the  dower  negroes  are  held,  to 
manumit  them.  And  whereas,  among  those  who 
will  receive  freedom  according  to  this  devise,  there 
may  be  some  who,  from  old  age  or  bodily  infirmities, 
and  others  who,  on  account  of  their  infancy,  will  be 
unable  to  support  themselves,  it  is  my  will  and  desire, 
that  all  who  come  under  the  first  and  second  descrip 
tion,  shall  be  comfortably  clothed  and  fed  by  my 
heirs  while  they  live;  and  that  such  of  the  latter  de 
scription  as  have  no  parents  living,  or,  if  living,  are 
unable  or  unwilling  to  provide  for  them,  shall  be 
bound  by  the  court  until  they  shall  arrive  at  the  age 
of  25  years;  and  in  cases  where  no  record  can  be  pro 
duced,  whereby  their  ages  can  be  ascertained,  the 
judgment  of  the  court,  upon  its  own  view  of  the  sub 
ject,  shall  be  adequate  and  final.  The  negroes  thus 
bound,  are,  (by  their  masters  or  mistresses,)  to  be 
taught  to  read  and  write,  and  be  brought  up  to  some 
useful  occupation,  agreeably  to  the  laws  of  the  com 
monwealth  of  Virgina,  providing  for  the  support  of 
orphan  and  other  poor  children.  And  I  do  hereby 
expressly  forbid  the  sale  or  transportation  out  of  the 
said  commonwealth  of  any  slave  I  may  die  possessed 
of,  under  any  pretence  whatsoever.  And  I  do  more 
over  most  pointedly  and  most  solemnly  enjoin  it  upon 
239 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

my  executors  hereafter  named,  or  the  survivors  of 
them,  to  see  that  this  clause  respecting  slaves,  and 
every  part  thereof,  be  religiously  fulfilled  at  the 
epoch  at  which  it  is  directed  to  take  place,  without 
evasion,  neglect,  or  delay,  after  the  crops  which  may 
then  be  on  the  ground  are  harvested,  particularly 
as  it  respects  the  aged  and  infirm;  seeing  that  a  regu 
lar  and  permanent  fund  be  established  for  their  sup 
port  as  long  as  they  are  subjects  requiring  it,  not 
trusting  to  the  uncertain  provisions  made  by  indi 
viduals. — And,  to  my  mulatto  man,  William  (calling 
himself  William  Lee)  I  give  immediate  freedom,  or 
if  he  should  prefer  it,  (on  account  of  the  accidents 
which  have  befallen  him,  and  which  have  rendered 
him  incapable  of  walking,  or  of  any  active  employ 
ment,)  to  remain  in  the  situation  he  now  is,  it  shall 
be  optional  in  him  to  do  so;  in  either  case,  however, 
I  allow  him  an  annuity  of  30  dollars  during  his  nat 
ural  life,  which  shall  be  independent  of  the  victuals 
and  clothes  he  has  been  accustomed  to  receive,  if  he 
chooses  the  latter  alternative;  but  in  full  with  his 
freedom,  if  he  prefers  the  first;  and  this  I  give  him  as 
a  testimony  of  my  sense  of  his  attachment  to  me, 
and  for  his  faithful  services  during  the  revolutionary 


(4)  BEQUEST  TO  ACADEMY  AT  ALEXANDRIA 

"Item. — To  the  trustees,  governors,  or  by  whatso 
ever  other  name  they  may  be  designated,  of  the 
academy  in  the  town  of  Alexandria,  I  give  and  be 
queath,  in  trust,  four  thousand  dollars,  or  in  other 
240 


WASHINGTON'S  WILL 

words,  twenty  of  the  shares  which  I  hold  in  the  bank 
of  Alexandria,  toward  the  support  of  a  free  school, 
established  at,  and  annexed  to  the  said  academy,  for 
the  purpose  of  educating  orphan  children,  or  the 
children  of  such  other  poor  and  indigent  persons  as 
are  unable  to  accomplish  it  with  their  own  means, 
and  who,  in  the  judgment  of  the  trustees  of  the  said 
seminary,  are  best  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  this 
donation.  The  aforesaid  twenty  shares  I  give  and 
bequeath  in  perpetuity,  the  dividends  only  of  which 
are  to  be  drawn  for,  and  applied  by  the  said  trustees, 
for  the  time  being,  for  the  uses  above  mentioned,  the 
stock  to  remain  entire  and  untouched,  unless  indica 
tions  of  failure  of  the  said  bank  should  be  so  apparent, 
or  a  discontinuance  thereof  shall  render  a  removal  of 
this  fund  necessary.  In  either  of  these  cases,  the 
amount  of  the  stock  here  devised  is  to  be  vested  in 
some  other  bank  or  public  institution,  whereby  the 
interest  may  with  regularity  and  certainty  be  drawn 
and  applied  as  above.  And,  to  prevent  misconcep 
tion,  my  meaning  is,  and  is  hereby  declared  to  be, 
that  these  twenty  shares  are  in  lieu  of,  and  not  in 
addition  to,  the  1000  pounds  given  by  a  missive  let 
ter  some  years  ago,  in  consequence  whereof  an  an 
nuity  of  50  pounds  has  since  been  paid  towards  the 
support  of  this  institution."298 


241 


CHAPTER  XIX 
HIS  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 

No  attempt  has  been  made  to  group  the 
facts  in  Washington's  religious  life  so  as  to 
emphasize  any  particular  phase.  We  have  fol 
lowed  him  step  by  step,  and  year  by  year, 
letting  him  speak  and  act  for  himself.  The 
careful  student  cannot  fail  to  be  impressed 
with  the  continuity  and  steady  development  of 
his  religious  character,  and  the  fullness  of  its 
expression  throughout  his  whole  life.  The 
evidence  is  all  in.  The  reader  is  the  judge. 
Some  corroborative  testimony  and  the  opin 
ions  of  others  may  help  to  form  a  right  con 
clusion. 

A  LETTER  BY  Miss  NELLY  CUSTIS 

I  shall  here  insert  a  letter  on  this  subject, 
written  to  the  historian  Jared  Sparks,  by  Nelly 
Custis,  who  lived  twenty  years  in  Washington's 
family,  and  who  was  his  adopted  'daughter,  and 
the  granddaughter  of  Mrs.  Washington.  The 
testimony  it  affords,  and  the  hints  it  contains 
respecting  the  domestic  habits  of  Washington, 
are  interesting  and  valuable. 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 

WOODLAWN,  26  February,  1833. 
SIR: 

I  received  your  favor  of  the  20th  instant  last  even 
ing,  and  hasten  to  give  you  the  information  which 
you  desire 

Truro  Parish  is  the  one  in  which  Mount  Vernon, 
Pohick  Church,  and  Woodlawn  are  situated.  Fair 
fax  Parish  is  now  Alexandria.  Before  the  Federal 
District  was  ceded  to  Congress  Alexandria  was  in 
Fairfax  County.  General  Washington  had  a  pew 
in  Pohick  Church,  and  one  in  Christ  Church  at  Alex 
andria.  He  was  very  instrumental  in  establishing 
Pohick  Church,  and  I  believe  subscribed  largely. 
His  pew  was  near  the  pulpit.  I  have  a  perfect  recol 
lection  of  being  there,  before  his  election  to  the  presi 
dency,  with  him  and  my  grandmother.  It  was  a 
beautiful  church,  and  had  a  large,  respectable  and 
wealthy  congregation,  who  were  regular  attendants. 

He  attended  the  church  at  Alexandria  when  the 
weather  and  roads  permitted  a  ride  of  ten  miles.  In 
New  York  and  Philadelphia  he  never  omitted  attend 
ance  at  church  in  the  morning,  unless  detained  by 
indisposition.  The  afternoon  was  spent  in  his  own 
room  at  home;  the  evening  with  his  family,  and  with 
out  company.  Sometimes  an  old  and  intimate 
friend  called  to  see  us  for  an  hour  or  two;  but  visiting 
and  visitors  were  prohibited  for  that  day.  No  one 
in  church  attended  to  the  service  with  more  reveren 
tial  respect.  My  grandmother,  who  was  eminently 
pious,  never  deviated  from  her  early  habits.  She 
always  knelt.  The  General,  as  was  then  the  custom, 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

stood  during  the  devotional  parts  of  the  service.  On 
communion  Sundays  he  left  the  church  with  me, 
after  the  blessing,  and  returned  home,  and  we  sent 
the  carriage  back  for  my  grandmother. 

It  was  his  custom  to  retire  to  his  library  at  nine  or 
ten  o'clock,  where  he  remained  an  hour  before  he 
went  to  his  chamber.  He  always  rose  before  the 
sun,  and  remained  in  his  library  until  called  for 
breakfast.  I  never  witnessed  his  private  devotions. 
I  never  inquired  about  them.  I  should  have  thought 
it  the  greatest  heresy  to  doubt  his  firm  belief  in 
Christianity.  His  life,  his  writings,  prove  that  he 
was  a  Christian.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  act 
or  pray,  "that  they  may  be  seen  of  men."  He  com 
muned  with  his  God  in  secret. 

My  mother  resided  two  years  at  Mount  Vernon, 
after  her  marriage  with  John  Parke  Custis,  the  only 
son  of  Mrs.  Washington.  I  have  heard  her  say  that 
General  Washington  always  received  the  sacrament 
with  my  grandmother  before  the  Revolution.  When 
my  aunt,  Miss  Custis,  died  suddenly  at  Mount  Ver 
non,  before  they  could  realize  the  event,  he  knelt  by 
her  and  prayed  most  fervently,  most  affectingly,  for 
her  recovery.  Of  this  I  was  assured  by  Judge 
Washington's  mother,  and  other  witnesses. 

He  was  a  silent,  thoughtful  man.  He  spoke  little 
generally;  never  of  himself.  I  never  heard  him  re 
late  a  single  act  of  his  life  during  the  war.  I  have 
often  seen  him  perfectly  abstracted,  his  lips  moving, 
but  no  sound  was  perceptible.  I  have  sometimes 
made  him  laugh  most  heartily  from  sympathy  with 
244 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 

my  joyous  and  extravagant  spirits.  I  was,  prob 
ably,  one  of  the  last  persons  on  earth  to  whom  he 
would  have  addressed  serious  conversation,  particu 
larly  when  he  knew  that  I  had  the  most  perfect  model 
of  female  excellence  ever  with  me  as  my  monitress, 
who  acted  the  part  of  a  tender  and  devoted  parent, 
loving  me  as  only  a  mother  can  love,  and  never  ex 
tenuating  or  approving  in  me  what  she  disapproved 
in  others.  She  never  omitted  her  private  devotions, 
or  her  public  duties;  and  she  and  her  husband  were 
so  perfectly  united  and  happy  that  he  must  have 
been  a  Christian.  She  had  no  doubts,  no  fears  for 
him.  After  forty  years  of  devoted  affection  and  un 
interrupted  happiness,  she  resigned  him  without  a 
murmur  into  the  arras  of  his  Saviour  and  his  Qod, 
with  the  assured  hope  of  eternal  felicity.  Is  it  neces 
sary  that  any  one  should  certify,  "General  Washing 
ton  avowed  himself  to  me  a  believer  in  Christianity"? 
As  well  may  we  question  his  patriotism,  his  heroic, 
disinterested  devotion  to  his  country.  His  mottoes 
were,  "Deeds,  Not  Words";  and,  'Tor  God  and  My 
Country" 

With  sentiments  of  esteem, 
I  am,  etc.299 

TESTIMONY  OF  MR.  ROBERT  LEWIS 

Mr.  Jared  Sparks,  the  historian,  adds  the  fol 
lowing: 

"It  seems  proper  to  subjoin  to  this  letter  what 
was  told  to  me  by  Mr.  Robert  Lewis,  at  Fred- 
245 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

ericksburg,  in  the  year  1827.  Being  a  nephew 
of  Washington,  and  his  private  secretary  during 
the  first  part  of  his  presidency,  Mr.  Lewis  lived 
with  him  on  terms  of  intimacy,  and  had  the  best 
opportunity  for  observing  his  habits.  Mr.  Lewis 
said  he  had  accidentally  witnessed  his  private 
devotions  in  his  library  both  morning  and  even 
ing;  that  on  those  occasions  he  had  seen  him  in 
a  kneeling  posture  with  a  Bible  open  before  him, 
and  that  he  believed  such  to  have  been  his  daily 
practice.  Mr.  Lewis  is  since  dead,  but  he  was 
a  gentleman  esteemed  for  his  private  worth  and 
respectability.  I  relate  the  anecdote  as  he  told 
it  to  me,  understanding  at  the  time  that  he 
was  willing  it  should  be  made  public  on  his 
authority.  He  added,  that  it  was  the  Presi 
dent's  custom  to  go  to  his  library  in  the  morn 
ing  at  four  o'clock,  and  that,  after  his  devotions, 
he  usually  spent  his  time  till  breakfast  in  writ 
ing  letters."300 

A  LETTER  BY  BISHOP  WHITE 
The  following  letter  from  the  venerable  Bishop 
White  was  written  to  the  Rev.  B.  C.  C.  Parker, 
then  rector  of  Trinity  Church  in  Lenox,  Massa 
chusetts: 

PHILADELPHIA,  28  November,  1832. 
DEAR  SIR: 

I  have  received  your  letter  of  the  20th  instant, 
246 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 

and  will  furnish  you  with  what  information  I  possess 
on  the  subject  of  it. 

[The  first  paragraph  of  this  letter  is  quoted  on 
page  238.] 

Although  I  was  often  in  company  with  this  great 
man,  and  had  the  honor  of  dining  often  at  his  table, 
I  never  heard  anything  from  him  which  could  mani 
fest  his  opinions  on  the  subject  of  religion.  I  knew 
no  man  who  so  carefully  guarded  against  the  dis 
coursing  of  himself,  or  of  his  acts,  or  of  any  thing  that 
pertained  to  him ;  and  it  has  occasionally  occurred  to 
me  when  in  his  company  that,  if  a  stranger  to  his 
person  were  present,  he  would  never  have  known 
from  anything  said  by  the  President  that  he  was  con 
scious  of  having  distinguished  himself  in  the  eye  of 
the  world.  His  ordinary  behavior,  although  excep 
tionally  courteous,  was  not  such  as  to  encourage 
obtrusion  on  what  he  had  on  his  mind. 

Within  a  few  days  of  his  leaving  the  Presidential 
chair  our  vestry  waited  on  him  with  an  address,  pre 
pared  and  delivered  by  me.  In  his  answer  he  was 
pleased  to  express  himself  gratified  by  what  he  had 
heard  from  our  pulpit;  but  there  was  nothing  that 
committed  him  relatively  to  religious  theory.  With 
in  a  day  or  two  of  the  above  there  was  another  ad 
dress  by  many  ministers  of  different  persuasions, 
being  prepared  by  Doctor  Green  and  delivered  by 
me.  It  has  been  a  subject  of  opposite  statements, 
owing  to  a  passage  in  the  posthumous  works  of  Mr. 
Jefferson.  He  says  (giving  Doctor  Rush  for  his 
author,  who  is  said  to  have  it  from  Doctor  Green), 
247 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

that  the  said  address  was  intended  to  elicit  the  opin 
ion  of  the  President  on  the  subject  of  the  Christian 
religion.  Doctor  Green  has  denied  this  in  his  period 
ical  work  called  "The  Christian  Advocate"  and  his 
statement  is  correct.  Doctor  Rush  may  have  mis 
understood  Doctor  Green,  or  the  former  may  have 
been  misunderstood  by  Mr.  Jefferson;  or  the  whole 
may  have  originated  with  some  individual  of  the 
assembled  ministers,  who  mistook  his  own  concep 
tions  for  the  sense  of  the  body.  The  said  two  docu 
ments  are  in  the  Philadelphia  newspapers  of  the  time. 

On  a  thanksgiving  day,  appointed  by  the  President 
for  the  suppression  of  the  Western  insurrection,  I 
preached  in  his  presence.  The  subject  was  the  Con 
nection  between  Religion  and  Civil  Happiness.  It 
was  misrepresented  in  one  of  our  newspapers.  This 
induced  the  publishing  of  the  sermon,  with  a  dedica 
tion  to  the  President,  pointedly  pleading  his  pro 
clamation  in  favor  of  the  connection  affirmed.  It 
did  not  appear  that  he  disallowed  the  use  made  of 
his  name.  Although,  in  my  estimation,  entire  sepa 
ration  between  Christianity  and  civil  government 
would  be  a  relinquishment  of  religion  in  the  abstract; 
yet,  that  this  was  the  sentiment  of  the  President, 
which  may  have  been,  I  have  no  light  positively  to 
infer. 

There  do  not  occur  to  me  any  other  particulars 
meeting  your  inquiry,  confined  to  my  knowledge. 
Accordingly  I  conclude  with  writing  myself,  very 
respectfully,  your  humble  servant, 

WILLIAM  WniTE.301 
248 


HIS  RELIGIOUS  HABITS 

CLAIMED  TO  BE  A  CHURCHMAN 
When  Washington  was  passing  through  Litch- 
field,  Connecticut,  during  the  war,  there  was 
some  desecration  of  the  church,  recalling  the 
treatment  of  the  cathedral  in  old  Litchfield, 
England,  by  the  soldiers  of  Cromwell.  Wash 
ington  himself  saw  some  of  his  soldiers  throw  a 
shower  of  stones  at  the  church,  and  at  once 
rebuked  them.  He  did  not  put  forward  the 
merely  just  argument  that  such  acts  were  dis 
orderly,  but  he  put  his  personal  feeling  into  what 
he  said:  "I  am  a  churchman,  and  wish  not  to  see 
the  church  dishonored  and  desolated  in  this 
manner."302 


249 


CHAPTER  XX 
ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

SERMONS  and  orations  by  divines  and  states 
men  were  delivered  all  over  the  land  at  the  death 
of  Washington.  A  large  volume  of  such  was 
published.  I  have  seen  and  read  them,  and  the 
religious  character  of  Washington  was  a  most 
prominent  feature  in  them;  and  for  this  there 
must  have  been  some  good  cause.  "That  Wash 
ington  was  regarded  throughout  America,  both 
among  our  military  and  political  men,  as  a  sin 
cere  believer  in  Christianity,  as  then  received 
among  us,  and  a  devout  man,  is  as  clear  as  any 
fact  in  our  history."303 

DECLARATIONS  OF  His  CONTEMPORARIES 
(1)     Major-General  Henry  Lee 

Major-General  Henry  Lee,  member  of  Con 
gress  from  Virginia,  who  served  under  him  dur 
ing  the  war,  and  afterward  in  the  civil  depart 
ment,  and  who  was  chosen  by  Congress  to  de 
liver  his  funeral  oration,  Thursday,  December  26, 
1799,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  German  Lutheran 
Church,  says  in  that  oration:  "First  in  war,  first 
in  peace,  and  first  in  the  hearts  of  his  country- 
250 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

men,  he  was  second  to  none  in  the  humble  and 
endearing  scenes  of  private  life.  Pious,  just, 
humane,  temperate,  and  sincere;  uniform,  dig 
nified,  and  commanding,  his  example  was  edify 
ing  to  all  around  him,  as  were  the  effects  of  that 
example  lasting."304 

(2)     Jonathan  Mitchell  Sewall 
On  Tuesday,  December  31,  1799,  Jonathan 
Mitchell  Sewall  delivered  an  oration  at  Ports 
mouth,  New  Hampshire,  at  the  request  of  the 
inhabitants,  in  which  he  says : 

"To  crown  all  these  moral  virtues,  he  had  the 
deepest  sense  of  religion  impressed  on  his  heart — 
the  true  foundation-stone  of  all  the  moral  virtues. 

"This  he  constantly  manifested  on  all  proper 
occasions.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in  the  Chris 
tian  religion;  and,  at  his  first  entrance  on  his 
civil  administration  he  made  it  known,  and  ad 
hered  to  his  purpose,  that  no  secular  business 
could  be  transacted  with  him  on  the  day  set 
apart  by  Christians  for  the  worship  of  Deity. 

"Though  he  was,  from  principle,  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  he  was  candid  and  liberal 
in  the  highest  degree,  not  only  to  all  sects  and 
denominations  of  Christians  but  to  all  religions, 
where  the  possessors  were  sincere,  throughout 
the  world. 

"He  constantly  attended  the  public  worship 
251 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

of  God  on  the  Lord's  Day,  was  communicant  at 
His  table,  and,  by  his  devout  and  solemn  deport 
ment,  inspired  every  beholder  with  some  portion 
of  that  awe  and  reverence  for  the  Supreme 
Being  of  which  he  felt  so  large  a  portion. 

"For  my  own  part,  I  trust  I  shall  never  lose 
the  impression  made  on  my  own  mind  in  behold 
ing  in  this  ihouse  of  prayer  [see  page  176],  the 
venerable  hero,  the  victorious  leader  of  our 
hosts,  bending  in  humble  adoration  to  the  God 
of  armies,  and  great  Captain  of  our  salvation. 
Hard  and  unfeeling  indeed  must  that  heart  be 
that  could  sustain  the  sight  unmoved,  or  its 
owner  depart  unsoftened  and  unedified. 

"Let  the  deist  reflect  on  this,  and  remember 
that  Washington,  the  saviour  of  his  country,  did 
not  disdain  to  acknowledge  and  adore  a  great 
Saviour,  whom  deists  and  infidels  affect  to 
slight  and  despise."305 

(3)     Reverend  John   Thornton  Kirkland 

In  a  discourse  on  the  death  of  Washington, 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  John  Thornton  Kirkland, 
minister  of  the  New  South  Church,  Boston, 
Massachusetts,  December  29,  1799,  he  says: 
"The  virtues  of  our  departed  friend  were 
crowned  with  piety.  He  is  known  to  have  been 
habitually  devout.  To  Christian  institutions  he 
gave  the  countenance  of  his  example;  and  no  one 
252 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

could  express  more  fully  his  sense  of  the  Provi 
dence  of  God,  and  the  dependence  of  man."306 

(4)  Captain  Josiah  Dunham 
Josiah  Dunham,  Captain  of  the  16th  U.  S. 

Regiment  of  the  Revolution,  in  his  funeral  ora 
tion  pronounced  at  Oxford,  Massachusetts,  at 
the  request  of  the  field  officers  of  the  brigade, 
stationed  at  that  place,  on  the  15th  of  January, 
1800,  says  of  him:  "A  friend  to  our  holy  reli 
gion,  he  was  ever  guided  by  its  pious  doctrines. 
He  had  embraced  the  tenets  of  the  Episcopal 
Church;  yet  his  charity,  unbounded  as  his  im 
mortal  mind,  led  him  equally  to  respect  every 
denomination  of  the  followers  of  Jesus."307 

(5)  The  Hon.  David  Ramsay 

The  Hon.  David  Ramsay,  M.D.,  of  South 
Carolina,  the  historian,  in  his  oration  on  the 
death  of  Washington,  delivered  at  Charleston, 
South  Carolina,  on  January  15,  1800,  at  the 
request  of  the  inhabitants,  says:  "He  was  the 
friend  of  morality  and  religion;  steadily  at 
tended  on  public  worship;  encouraged  and 
strengthened  the  hands  of  the  clergy.  In  all  his 
public  acts  he  made  the  most  respectful  mention 
of  Providence,  and,  in  a  word,  carried  the  spirit 
of  piety  with  him,  both  in  his  private  life  and 
public  administration.  He  was  far  from  being 
253 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

one  of  those  minute  philosophers  who  believe 
that  'death  is  an  eternal  sleep;'  or,  of  those, 
who,  trusting  to  the  sufficiency  of  human  reason, 
discard  the  light  of  divine  revelation."308 

(6)  The  Rev.  John  M.  Mason,  D.D. 
The  Rev.  Doctor  John  M.  Mason,  pastor  of 
the  Associate  Reformed  Church  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  in  the  funeral  eulogy  delivered  by 
appointment  of  a  number  of  the  clergy  of  New 
York  City,  February  22,  1800,  uses  this  lan 
guage:  "That  invisible  hand  which  guarded  him 
at  first  continued  to  guard  and  to  guide  him 
through  the  successive  stages  of  the  Revolution. 
Nor  did  he  account  it  a  weakness  to  bend  the 
knee  in  homage  to  its  supremacy,  and  prayer  for 
its  direction.  This  was  the  armor  of  Washing 
ton,  this  the  salvation  of  his  country."309 

(7)     Jeremiah  Smith 

In  an  oration  delivered  by  Jeremiah  Smith  at 
Exeter,  New  Hampshire,  February  22,  1800,  he 
says: 

"He  had  all  the  genuine  mildness  of  Chris 
tianity  with  all  its  force.  He  was  neither  os 
tentatious,  nor  ashamed  of  his  Christian  profes 
sion.  He  pursued  in  this,  as  in  every  thing  else, 
the  happy  mean  between  the  extremes  of  levity 
and  gloominess,  indifference  and  austerity.  His 
254 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

religion  became  him.  He  brought  it  with  him 
into  office,  and  he  did  not  lose  it  there.  His 
first  and  his  last  official  acts  (as  he  did  all  the 
intermediate  ones)  contained  an  explicit  ac 
knowledgment  of  the  overruling  providence  of 
the  Supreme  Being;  and  the  most  fervent  sup 
plication  for  His  benediction  on  our  government 
and  nation. 

"Without  being  charged  with  exaggeration, 
I  may  be  permitted  to  say,  that  an  accurate 
knowledge  of  his  life,  while  it  would  confer  on 
him  the  highest  title  to  praise,  would  be  pro 
ductive  of  the  most  solid  advantage  to  the  cause 
of  Christianity."310 

(8)  President  Timothy  Dwight 
Timothy  Dwight,  D.D.,  president  of  Yale 
College,  in  a  discourse  on  "The  Character  of 
Washington,"  February  22,  1800,  says:  "For 
my  own  part,  I  have  considered  his  numerous 
and  uniform  public  and  most  solemn  declara 
tions  of  his  high  veneration  for  religion,  his  ex 
emplary  and  edifying  attention  to  public  wor 
ship,  and  his  constancy  in  secret  devotion,  as 
proofs,  sufficient  to  satisfy  every  person,  willing 
to  be  satisfied.  I  shall  only  add  that  if  he  was 
not  a  Christian,  he  was  more  like  one  than  any 
man  of  the  same  description  whose  life  has  been 
hitherto  recorded."311 

255 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

(9)  Reverend  Devereux  Jarratt 
In  an  address  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Devereux 
Jarratt,  in  Dinwiddie  County,  Virginia,  he  says: 
"Washington  was  a  professor  of  Christianity 
and  a  member  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal 
Church.  He  always  acknowledged  the  super 
intendence  of  Divine  Providence;  and  from  his 
inimitable  writings  we  find  him  a  warm  advo 
cate  for  a  sound  morality  founded  on  the  prin 
ciples  of  religion,  the  only  basis  on  which  it  can 
stand.  Nor  did  I  ever  meet  with  the  most  dis 
tant  insinuation  that  his  private  life  was  not  a 
comment  on  his  own  admired  page."312 

Testimony  of  an  English  Sympathizer 
The  testimony  of  the  Rev.  Jonathan  Boucher, 
who,  to  say  the  least,  was  not  prejudiced  in  favor 
of  Washington,  is  very  interesting.  He  was  a 
minister  in  the  Episcopal  Church  at  Annapolis, 
Maryland.  During  the  first  six  months  of  1775 
he  always  preached  with  a  pair  of  loaded  pistols 
lying  on  the  cushion  in  front  of  him ;  and  indeed, 
with  no  aid  from  fire  arms,  he  was  well  known  to 
be  more  than  a  match  for  any  single  member  of 
his  congregation.  He  opposed  the  independ 
ence  of  the  colonies,  and  returned  to  England 
in  1775.  He  was  for  a  time  private  tutor  to 
John  Parke  Custis,  the  son  of  Mrs.  Washington. 
His  acquaintance  with  Washington  was  prior  to 
256 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

the  Revolution,  and,  in  his  own  words,  he  "did 
know  Washington  well."  In  1776  he  writes 
concerning  him:  "In  his  moral  character  he  is 
regular,  temperate,  strictly  just  and  honest  (ex 
cept  that  as  a  Virginian  he  has  lately  found  out 
that  there  is  no  moral  turpitude  in  not  paying 
what  he  confesses  he  owes  to  a  British  creditor), 
and,  I  always  thought,  religious;  having  hereto 
fore  been  pretty  constant  and  even  exemplary 
in  his  attendance  on  public  worship  in  the 
Church  of  England."313 

Such  was  his  character,  "that  even  in  England 
not  one  reflection  was  ever  cast,  or  the  least  dis 
respectful  word  uttered  against  him."314 

TESTIMONY  OF  OTHERS 

(1)  President  Madison 
President   Madison   says,  "Washington  was 

constant  in  the  observance  of  worship,  accord 
ing  to  the  received  forms  of  the  Episcopal 
Church."315 

(2)  Robert  C.  Winthrop 

Robert  C.  Winthrop,  acknowledging  the  re 
ceipt  of  the  Rev.  Philip  Slaughter's  oration  on 
Washington,  says,  "It  confirms  all  my  opinions 
of  the  character  of  Washington,  and  leaves  no 
loop  to  hang  a  doubt  upon  that  Christianity  was 
the  key  to  that  character."316 
257 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

(3)  Bushrod  Washington 
Washington  bequeathed  Mount  Vernon,  four 
thousand  acres,  including  the  Mansion  House 
to  his  nephew,  Bushrod  Washington,  who  after 
wards  became  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States.  In  1826  the  latter  was 
elected  a  vice-president  of  the  American  Sunday 
School  Union.  In  replying  to  an  address  he 
said,  "Upon  the  well-intended  efforts  I  have 
made  to  secure  the  due  observance  of  the  Sab 
bath  day,  upon  a  spot,  where,  I  am  persuaded, 
it  was  never  violated  during  the  life  and  with 
the  permission  of  its  venerable  owner."317 

TRADITION  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  INDIANS 
The  New  York  Indians  hold  this  tradition  of 
Washington :  "Alone,  of  all  white  men,  he  has 
been  admitted  to  the  Indian  Heaven,  because  of 
his  justice  to  the  Red  Men.  He  lives  in  a  great 
palace,  built  like  a  fort.  All  the  Indians,  as  they 
go  to  Heaven,  pass  by,  and  he  himself  is  in  his 
uniform,  a  sword  at  his  side,  walking  to  and  fro. 
They  bow  reverently  with  great  humility.  He 
returns  the  salute,  but  says  nothing."  Such  is 
the  reward  of  his  justice  to  the  Red  Man.318 

ABRAHAM  AND  WASHINGTON 
The  Rev.  Israel  Evans  was  a  chaplain  in  the 
United  States  army  through  nearly  the  entire 
258 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

Revolutionary  service.  He  was  a  native  of  New 
Jersey,  a  man  of  education,  and  capable  of  ap 
preciating  such  a  character  as  that  of  Washing 
ton.  The  opportunities  he  enjoyed  for  social 
intercourse  with  him,  as  well  as  with  other 
patriots  of  the  Revolution,  were  very  frequent 
and  favorable,  and  his  reverence  for  Washington 
was  very  great. 

"It  is  related  of  Mr.  Evans  that  during  his  last 
sickness,  thirty  years  or  more  after  the  Revolu 
tion,  his  successor  in  the  ministry,  in  the  New 
England  village  where  he  had  been  settled,  was 
called  in  by  the  family  to  pray  with  him,  in  the 
evident  near  approach  of  the  dying  hour.  Mr. 
Evans  had  lain  some  considerable  time  in  a 
stupor,  apparently  unconscious  of  anything 
around  him,  and  his  brother  clergyman  was  pro 
ceeding  in  a  fervent  prayer  to  God,  that,  as  his 
servant  was  evidently  about  departing  this 
mortal  life,  his  spirit  might  be  conveyed  by 
angels  to  Abraham's  bosom.  Just  at  this  point, 
the  dying  man  for  the  first  time  and  for  the 
moment  revived,  so  far  as  to  utter,  in  an  interval 
of  his  delirium,  'and  Washington's,  too9 — and 
then  sunk  again  into  apparent  unconsciousness. 
As  if  it  was  not  enough  to  'have  Abraham  to  his 
father,'  and  on  whose  bosom  to  repose,  but  he 
must  have  Washington,  too,  on  whom  to  lean. 
A  signal  manifestation  of  'the  ruling  passion 
259 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

strong  in  death' —  and  of  the  lasting  hold  which 
that  great  man  had  on  the  mind  and  heart  of 
one  of  his  early  and  devoted  friends."319 

JUDGMENT  OF  HISTORIANS 

(1)     Mason  L.  Weems 

"The  noblest,  the  most  efficient  element  of  his 
character  was  that  he  was  an  humble,  earnest 
Christian."320 

(2)     Aaron  Bancroft 

"In  principle  and  practice  he  was  a  Chris 
tian."321 

(3)     Cyrus  R.  Edmonds 
"The  elements  of  his  greatness  are  chiefly  to 
be  discovered  in  the  moral  features  of  his  charac 
ter."322 

(4)  John  Marshall 

Chief  Justice  John  Marshall,  who  had  been 
the  personal  friend  and  frequent  associate  of 
Washington,  says  in  his  biography,  "Without 
making  ostentatious  professions  of  religion,  he 
was  a  sincere  believer  in  the  Christian  faith,  and 
a  truly  devout  man."323 

(5)  George  Bancroft 

"Belief  in  God  and  trust  in  His  overruling 
power,  formed  the  essence  of  his  character.  .  .  . 
His  whole  being  was  one  continued  act  of  faith 
in  the  eternal,  intelligent  and  moral  order  of  the 
universe."324 

260 


ESTIMATE  OF  HIS  CHARACTER 

(6)     Jared  Sparks 

"A  Christian  in  faith  and  practice,  he  was 
habitually  devout.  His  reverence  for  religion  is 
seen  in  his  example,  his  public  communications, 
and  his  private  writings.  He  uniformly  as 
cribed  his  successes  to  the  beneficent  agency  of 
the  Supreme  Being.  Charitable  and  humane,  he 
was  liberal  to  the  poor  and  kind  to  those  in  dis 
tress.  As  a  husband,  son,  and  brother,  he  was 
tender  and  affectionate."325 

"If  a  man  spoke,  wrote,  and  acted  as  a  Chris 
tian  through  a  long  life,  who  gave  numerous 
proofs  of  his  believing  himself  to  be  such,  and 
who  was  never  known  to  say,  write  or  do  a  thing 
contrary  to  his  professions,  if  such  a  man  is  not 
to  be  ranked  among  the  believers  of  Christianity, 
it  would  be  impossible  to  establish  the  point  by 
any  train  of  reasoning.  .  .  . 

"After  a  long  and  minute  examination  of  the 
writings  of  Washington,  public  and  private,  in 
print  and  in  manuscript,  I  can  affirm  that  I  have 
never  seen  a  single  hint  or  expression  from  which 
it  could  be  inferred  that  he  had  any  doubt  of 
the  Christian  revelation,  or  that  he  thought  with 
indifference  or  unconcern  of  that  subject.  On 
the  contrary,  whenever  he  approaches  it,  and, 
indeed,  whenever  he  alludes  in  any  manner  to 
religion,  it  is  done  with  seriousness  and  rever 
ence."326 


CHAPTER  XXI 
THE  VERDICT 

(1)     DAVID  RAMSAY 

DOCTOR  DAVID  RAMSAY  was  a  celebrated  phy 
sician  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  He  was 
a  delegate  to  the  Continental  Congress  in 
1782-86.  In  his  biography  of  Washington,  one 
of  the  best  ever  published,  he  says:  "There  are 
few  men  of  any  kind,  and  still  fewer  of  those  the 
world  calls  great,  who  have  not  some  of  their 
virtues  eclipsed  by  corresponding  vices.  But 
this  was  not  the  case  with  General  Washington. 
He  had  religion  without  austerity,  dignity  with 
out  pride,  modesty  without  diffidence,  courage 
without  rashness,  politeness  without  affectation, 
affability  without  familiarity.  His  private  char 
acter,  as  well  as  his  public  one,  will  bear  the 
strictest  scrutiny.  He  was  punctual  in  all  his 
engagements;  upright  and  honest  in  his  dealings; 
temperate  in  his  enjoyments;  liberal  and  hos 
pitable  to  an  eminent  degree;  a  lover  of  order; 
systematical  and  methodical  in  his  arrange 
ments.  He  was  a  friend  of  morality  and  re 
ligion;  steadily  attended  on  public  worship;  en 
couraged  and  strengthened  the  hands  of  the 


THE  VERDICT 

clergy.  In  all  his  public  acts  he  made  the  most 
respectful  mention  of  Providence;  and,  in  a 
word,  carried  the  spirit  of  piety  with  him  both 
in  his  private  life  and  public  administration."327 

(2)  JAMES  K.  PAULDING 
"It  is  impossible  to  read  the  speeches  and  let 
ters  of  Washington  and  follow  his  whole  course 
of  life,  without  receiving  the  conviction  of  his 
steady,  rational,  and  exalted  piety.  Every 
where  he  places  his  chief  reliance,  in  the  diffi 
cult,  almost  hopeless  circumstances  in  which  he 
was  so  often  involved,  on  the  justice  of  that 
great  Being  who  holds  the  fate  of  men  and  of 
nations  in  the  hollow  of  His  hand.  His  hopes 
for  his  country  are  always  founded  on  the  right 
eousness  of  its  cause,  and  the  blessing  of  Heaven. 
His  was  the  belief  of  reason  and  revelation;  and 
that  belief  was  illustrated  and  exemplified  in  all 
his  actions.  No  parade  accompanied  its  exer 
cises,  no  declamation  its  exhibition;  for  it  was 
his  opinion  that  a  man  who  is  always  boasting  of 
his  religion,  is  like  one  who  continually  proclaims 
his  honesty — he  would  trust  neither  one  nor  the 
other.  He  was  not  accustomed  to  argue  points 
of  faith,  but  on  one  occasion,  in  reply  to  a  gentle 
man  who  expressed  doubts  on  the  subject,  thus 
gave  his  sentiments: 

'  'It  is  impossible  to  account  for  the  creation 
263 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

of  the  universe  without  the  agency  of  a  Supreme 
Being. 

'  'It  is  impossible  to  govern  the  universe  with 
out  the  aid  of  a  Supreme  Being. 

'  'It  is  impossible  to  reason  without  arriving 
at  a  Supreme  Being.  Religion  is  as  necessary 
to  reason  as  reason  is  to  religion.  The  one  can 
not  exist  without  the  other.  A  reasoning  being 
would  lose  his  reason  in  attempting  to  account 
for  the  great  phenomena  of  nature,  had  he  not  a 
Supreme  Being  to  refer  to;  and  well  has  it  been 
said,  that  if  there  had  been  no  God,  mankind 
would  have  been  obliged  to  imagine  one.'  "328 

"On  this  basis  of  piety  was  erected  the  super 
structure  of  his  virtues.  He  perceived  the  har 
monious  affinity  subsisting  between  the  duties 
we  owe  to  Heaven  and  those  we  are  called  upon 
to  sustain  on  earth,  and  made  his  faith  the  foun 
dation  of  his  moral  obligations.  He  cherished 
the  homely  but  invaluable  maxim  that  'honesty 
is  the  best  policy,'  and  held  that  the  temporal  as 
well  as  eternal  happiness  of  mankind  could  never 
be  separated  from  the  performance  of  their  du 
ties  to  Heaven  and  their  fellow  creatures.  He 
believed  it  to  be  an  inflexible  law  that,  sooner  or 
later,  a  departure  from  the  strict  obligations  of 
truth  and  justice  would  bring  with  it  the  loss  of 
confidence  of  mankind,  and  thus  deprive  us  of 
our  best  support  for  prosperity  in  this  world,  as 
264 


THE  VERDICT 

well  as  our  best  hope  of  happiness  in  that  to 
come.  In  short,  he  believed  and  practiced  on 
the  high  principle,  that  the  invariable  conse 
quence  of  the  performance  of  a  duty  was  an  in 
crease  of  happiness.  What  others  call  good  for 
tune,  he  ascribed  to  a  great  and  universal  law, 
establishing  an  indissoluble  connection  between 
actions  and  their  consequences,  and  making 
every  man  responsible  to  himself  for  his  good  or 
ill  success  in  this  world.  Under  that  superin 
tending  Providence  which  shapes  the  ends  of 
men,  his  sentiments  and  actions  show  that  he 
believed,  that,  as  a  general  rule,  every  rational 
being  was  the  architect  of  his  own  happiness."329 

(3)     SIR  GEORGE  OTTO  TREVELYAN 
The  following,  by  this  noted  English  writer,  is 
very  interesting: 

"A  better  churchman — or,  at  all  events,  a 
better  man  who  ranked  himself  as  a  churchman 
—than  George  Washington  it  would  have  been 
hard  indeed  to  discover.  When  at  home  on  the 
bank  of  the  Potomac,  he  had  always  gone  of  a 
Sunday  morning  to  what  would  have  been  called 
a  distant  church  by  any  one  except  a  Virginia 
equestrian;  and  he  spent  Sunday  afternoons, 
alone  and  unapproachable,  in  his  library.  In 
war  he  found  time  for  daily  prayer  and  medita 
tion  (as,  by  no  wish  of  his,  the  absence  of  privacy, 
265 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

which  is  a  feature  in  camp  life,  revealed  to  those 
who  were  immediately  about  him) ;  he  attended 
public  worhsip  himself;  and  by  every  available 
means  he  encouraged  the  practice  of  religion  in 
his  soldiers,  to  whom  he  habitually  stood  in  a 
kind  of  fatherly  relation.  There  are  many  pages 
in  his  Orderly  Books  which  indicate  a  determina 
tion  that  the  multitude  of  young  fellows  who 
were  intrusted  to  his  charge  should  have  all  pos 
sible  facilities  for  being  as  well-behaved  as  in 
their  native  villages. 

"The  troops  were  excused  fatigue  duty  in 
order  that  they  might  not  miss  church.  If  pub 
lic  worship  was  interrupted  on  a  Sunday  by  the 
call  to  arms,  a  service  was  held  on  a  convenient 
day  in  the  ensuing  week.  The  chaplains  were 
exhorted  to  urge  the  soldiers  that  they  ought  to 
live  and  act  like  Christian  men  in  times  of  dis 
tress  and  danger;  and  after  every  great  victory, 
and  more  particularly  at  the  final  proclamation 
of  Peace,  the  Commander-in-chief  earnestly 
recommended  that  the  army  should  universally 
attend  the  rendering  of  thanks  to  Almighty 
God  'with  seriousness  of  deportment  and  grati 
tude  of  heart.'  "33° 

"Washington  loved  his  own  church  the  best, 
and  had  no  mind  to  leave  it;  but  he  was  not  hos 
tile  to  any  faith  which  was  sincerely  held,  and 
which  exerted  a  restraining  and  correcting  in- 
266 


THE  VERDICT 

fluence  upon  human  conduct.  'I  am  disposed/ 
he  once  told  Lafayette,  'to  indulge  the  profes 
sors  of  Christianity  with  that  road  to  Heaven 
which  to  them  shall  seem  the  most  direct,  plain 
est,  easiest,  and  least  liable  to  exception.'  His 
feeling  on  this  matter  was  accurately  expressed 
in  the  instructions  which  he  wrote  out  for  Bene 
dict  Arnold,  when  that  officer  led  an  armed  force 
of  fierce  and  stern  New  England  Protestants 
against  the  Roman  Catholic  settlements  in 
Canada.  The  whole  paper  was  a  lesson  in  the 
statesmanship  which  is  founded  on  respect  and 
consideration  for  others,  and  still  remains  well 
worth  reading.  In  after  years,  as  President  of 
the  United  States,  Washington  enjoyed  fre 
quent  opportunities  for  impressing  his  own  senti 
ments  and  policy,  in  all  that  related  to  religion, 
upon  the  attention  of  his  compatriots.  The 
churches  of  America  were  never  tired  of  framing 
and  presenting  addresses  which  assured  him  of 
their  confidence,  veneration,  and  sympathy;  and 
he  as  invariably  replied  by  congratulating  them 
that  in  their  country  worship  was  free,  and  that 
men  of  every  creed  were  eligible  to  every  post  of 
honor  and  authority."331 

(4)     HENRY  CABOT  LODGE 
"He  had  the  same  confidence  in  the  judgment 
of  posterity  that  he  had  in  the  future  beyond  the 
267 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

grave.  He  regarded  death  with  entire  calm 
ness,  and  even  indifference,  not  only  when  it 
came  to  him,  but  when  in  previous  years  it  had 
threatened  him.  He  loved  life  and  tasted  of  it 
deeply,  but  the  courage  which  never  forsook 
him  made  him  ready  to  face  the  inevitable  at 
any  moment  with  an  unruffled  spirit.  In  this 
he  was  helped  by  his  religious  faith,  which  was 
as  simple  as  it  was  profound.  He  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
and  to  that  church  he  always  adhered,  for  its 
splendid  liturgy  and  stately  forms  appealed  to 
him  and  satisfied  him.  He  loved  it  too  as  the 
church  of  his  home  and  his  childhood.  Yet  he 
was  as  far  as  possible  from  being  sectarian,  and 
there  is  not  a  word  of  his  which  shows  anything 
but  the  most  entire  liberality  and  toleration. 
He  made  no  parade  of  his  religion,  for  in  this,  as 
in  other  things,  he  was  perfectly  simple  and  sin 
cere.  He  was  tortured  by  no  doubts  or  ques 
tionings,  but  believed  always  in  an  overruling 
Providence  and  in  a  merciful  God,  to  whom  he 
knelt  and  prayed  in  the  day  of  darkness  or  in 
the  hour  of  triumph  with  a  supreme  and  child 
like  confidence."332 

WHAT  MADE  HIM  GREAT 

"When  the  children  of  the  years  to  come,  hear 
ing  his  great  name  re-echoed  from  every  lip,  shall 
268 


THE  VERDICT 


say  to  their  fathers,  'What  was  it  that  raised 
Washington  to  such  height  of  glory?'  let  them  be 
told  that  it  was  HIS  GREAT  TALENTS,  CON 
STANTLY  GUIDED  AND  GUARDED  BY 
RELIGION."333 


"The  purest  and  noblest  character  of  modern 
time — possibly  of  all  time." — Duke  of  Wel 
lington. 


£69 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

FOLLOWING  are  the  titles  of  the  seventy-five  vol 
umes  from  which  the  material  in  this  book  has  been 
drawn.  The  first  word  is  the  surname  of  the  author, 
or  a  part  of  the  title  of  the  book,  magazine,  etc.  It 
is  the  "key-word"  used  in  "Where  Found"  on  p.  276. 
The  date  given  is  the  date  of  publication,  although 
it  is  not  in  every  case  the  date  of  the  first  edition. 

APPLETON:  Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Bi 
ography,  Vol.  VI,  1889. 

BAKER:  Character  Portraits  of  Washington,  by  Wil 
liam  S.  Baker,  1887. 
Early  Sketches  of  George  Washington,  by 

William  S.  Baker,  1894. 
Itinerary  of  General  Washington,  1775-1783, 

by  William  S.  Baker,  1892. 
Washington  after  the  Revolution,  1784-1799, 

by  William  S.  Baker,  1897. 
BALDWIN:  An  American  Book  of  Golden  Deeds,  by 

James  Baldwin,  1907. 
BANCROFT:  Life  of  George  Washington,  by  Aaron 

Bancroft,  1807. 
BANCROFT:  History  of  the  United  States,  by  George 

Bancroft,  Vol  VII,  1888. 

BARNES  :  Christian  Keepsake,  by  Rev.  Albert  Barnes, 
D.D.,  1840. 

270 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

BURK:  Washington's  Prayers,  by  W.  Herbert  Burk, 
1907.  Dr.  Burk  very  graciously  gave  per 
mission  to  reprint  these  "Prayers"  in 
this  book. 

BUTLER:  Washington  at  Valley  Forge,  by  J.  M. 
Butler,  1858. 

CHRONICLE:  London   Chronicle,   September  21-23, 

1779. 

CLARK:  Colonial  Churches,  by  W.  M.  Clark,  1907. 
CONWAY:  George  Washington's  Rules  of  Civility,  by 

Moncure  D.  Conway,  1890. 

CUSTIS  :  Recollections  and  Private  Memoirs  of  Wash 
ington,  by  George  Washington  Parke  Cus- 
tis,  Edited  by  Benson  J.  Lossing,  1860. 

Much  of  the  material  in  this  book  appeared  in  dif 
ferent  publications  as  early  as  1827. 

George  Washington  Parke  Custis  was  the  grandson 
of  Mrs.  Washington.  He  was  born  in  1781.  Six 
months  later  his  father  died.  His  father  was  the 
son  of  Mrs.  Washington  by  a  former  marriage. 
Upon  the  death  of  his  father  he  was  adopted  by 
General  Washington,  and  lived  with  him  at  Mount 
Vernon  as  his  own  son.  Mr.  Custis  died  in  1857 
in  the  seventy-seventh  year  of  his  age.  He  was, 
therefore,  in  his  nineteenth  year  when  Washington 
died. 

DIARY:  The  Diary  of  George  Washington,  from  1789 
to  1791,  Edited  by  Benson  J.  Lossing,  1860. 
DUDLEY:  The  Cambridge  of  1776,  with  the  Diary  of 
Dorothy  Dudley,  1876. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

EDMONDS:  Life  and  Times  of  General  Washington, 
by  Cyrus  R.  Edmonds  (England),  2 
Vols.,  1835. 

EULOGIES  AND  ORATIONS:  Eulogies  and  Orations  on 

the  Life  and  Death  of 
General  George  Wash 
ington,  1800. 

FORD:  The  True  George  Washington,  by  Paul  Lei 
cester  Ford,  1903. 

GREEN:  The  Life  of  Ashabel  Green,  by  Himself, 
1849. 

HALE:  Contemplations:  Moral  and  Divine,  by  Sir 
Matthew  Hale,  Knight;  late  Chief  Justice 
of  the  King's  Bench.  Printed  in  London, 
1695. 

HARLAND  :  The  Story  of  Mary  Washington,  by  Mar 
ion  Harland,  1892. 
HARPER:  Harper's  Magazine,  1859. 
HOSACK:  Memoir  of    DeWitt    Clinton,   by   David 

Hosack,  M.  D.,  1829. 

HOUGH:  Memorials  of  the  Death  of  Washington,  by 
Franklin  B.  Hough,  1865. 

IRVING:  Life  of  George  Washington,  by  Washington 
Irving,  5  Vols.,  1857. 

JOHNSTON:  George  Washington,  Day  by  Day,  by 
Elizabeth  Bryant  Johnston,  1894. 

KIRKLAND:  Memoirs  of  Washington,  by  Mrs.  C.  M. 
Kirkland,  1857. 
272 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

LITTELL:  George   Washington:  Christian,   by  Rev. 

John  Stockton  Littell,  D.D.,  1913. 
LODGE  :  George  Washington,  by  Henry  Cabot  Lodge, 

2  Vols.,  1898. 

LONG  ISLAND:  Memoirs  of  the  Long  Island  Histori 
cal  Society,  Vol.  IV,  1889. 
LOSSING  :  Mary  and  Martha  Washington,  by  Benson 

J.  Lossing,  1886. 

The  Pictorial  Field-Book  of  the  Revolu 
tion,  by  Benson  J.  Lossing,  2  Vols.,  1860. 


MARSHALL:  The  Life  of  George  Washington,  by  John 
Marshall,  Abridged  Edition,  2  Vols., 
1832.  (First  edition  in  1804-7,5 
Vols.) 

He  was  chosen  by  the  Washington  Family  to  write 
the  biography  of  George  Washington. 
MEADE:  Old  Churches,  Ministers  and  Families  of 
Virginia,  by  Bishop  Meade,  2  Vols.,  1872. 
The  author  was  Bishop  of  Virginia  for 
33  years  (1829-1862). 

M'GuiRE:  The  Religious  Opinions  and  Character  of 
Washington,  by  Rev.  E.  C.  M'Guire, 
1836. 

Mr.  M'Guire  married  the  daughter  of  Mr.  Robert 
Lewis,  the  nephew  and  private  secretary  of  Washing 
ton,  and  thus  he  had  exceptional  sources  of  informa 
tion. 

MOORE:  Libels  on  George  Washington,  by  George 
H.  Moore,  1889. 
273 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

NORTON:  Life  of  General  Washington,  by  John  N. 
Norton,  1870. 

PAULDING:  A  life  of  Washington,  by  James  K.  Paul- 
ding,  2  Vols.,  1836. 
POST:  Pennsylvania    Evening    Post,    Philadelphia, 

April  9, 1776. 
POTTER:  Washington  in  His  Library  and  Life,  by 

President  Eliphalet  Nott  Potter,  1895. 
PRESBYTERIAN  :  The  Presbyterian  Magazine,  Edited 
by  C.  Van  Rensselaer,  Philadel 
phia,  Pa.,  February,  1851. 

PRYOR:  The  Mother  of  George  Washington  and  Her 
Times,  by  Mrs.  Roger  A.  Pryor,  1903. 

RAMSAY:  Life   of   George   Washington,   by   David 

Ramsay,  M.D.,  1807. 

RUSH:  Washington  in  Domestic  Life,  by  Richard 
Rush,  1857. 

SHERMAN:  Historic  Morristown,  New  Jersey,  by  An 
drew  M.  Sherman,  1905. 

SMITH:  Orderly  Book  of  the  Siege  of  Yorktown,  Ed 
ited  by  Horace  W.  Smith,  1865. 

SPARKS:  The  writings  of  George  Washington,  by 
Jared  Sparks,  12  Vols.,  1834-7. 

THACHER:  Military  Journal   during  the  American 
Revolutionary  War,  from  1775  to  1783, 
by  James  Thacher,  M.D.,  1823. 
TONER:  Washington's  Barbadoe*  Journal,   1751-2, 

Edited  by  J.  M.  Toner,  M.D.,  1892. 
TREVELYAN  :  The  American  Revolution,  by  the  Right 
Hon.  Sir  George  Trevelyan,  Bart.,  1908. 
274 


SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION 

TRIBUNE:  New  York  Tribune,  May  26,  1902. 

VERNON  :  General  Washington,  the  American  Soldier 
and  Christian,  by  Merle  Vernon. 

WALTER:  Memorials  of  Washington  and  Mary,  His 
Mother,    and   Martha,    His    Wife,    by 
James  Walter,  1887. 
WEEMS:  The  Life  of  General  Washington,  by  the 

Rev.  Mason  L.  Weems,  1808. 
Two  editions  were  published  before  Washington's 
death.  These  were  brief  biographical  sketches  only. 
The  third  edition,  in  1800,  was  dedicated  to  Mrs. 
Washington.  The  fourth  edition  was  in  1804.  The 
cherry  tree,  cabbage  seed,  and  other  stories,  which 
made  the  book  famous,  first  appeared  in  the  fifth 
edition,  in  1806. 

WHITING:  Revolutionary  Orders  of  General  Wash 
ington,  selected  from  MSS.  of  John 
Whiting,  Edited  by  Henry  Whiting, 
1844. 

Colonel  John  Whiting  fought  through  all  the  Revo 
lutionary  War. 

WYLIE:  Washington,  A  Christian,  by  the  Rev.  Theo 
dore  Wm.  John  Wylie,  1862. 


275 


WHERE  FOUND 

THE  following  is  a  complete  list  of  references  to 
books,  magazines,  and  papers,  with  volume  and  page, 
from  which  the  material  used  in  this  book  has  been 
taken,  together  with  explanatory  notes. 

The  numbers  correspond  to  the  index  numbers 
throughout  the  book. 

A  "key-word"  is  used,  by  means  of  which  the  full 
title  of  the  book  or  magazine  from  which  the  material 
is  taken,  may  readily  be  found  by  reference  to  the 
same  word  under  "Sources  of  Information"  on  page 
270. 

Illustration:  On  page  69  is  the  index  number  "77" 
Turning  to  "Where  Found"  we  find  opposite  77, 
"Norton,  p.  145."  Under  "Sources  of  Information," 
opposite  the  word  "Norton,"  is  "Life  of  General 
Washington,  by  John  N.  Norton,  1870."  This  is 
the  book,  published  in  1870,  from  which  the  extract 
is  taken,  and  it  is  found  on  page  145. 

1  Littell,  p.  5. 

2M'Guire,p.31. 

3  Walter,  p.  123. 

4M'Guire,p.40. 

6  Hale. 

6  Norton,  p.  34. 

7  Lossing,  p.  27. 

8  Irving,  Vol.  I,  p.  49. 

276 


WHERE  FOUND 

9  Conway,  p.  49;  10  pp.  178, 180. 

11  Burk,  p.  12. 

12  Littell,  p.  7. 
13M'Guire,p.47. 
14  Toner,  p.  49. 

16  Burk,  p.  13.  Experts  in  Washington  City,  Phila 
delphia  and  New  York  are  satisfied  that  it  is 
Washington's  handwriting  without  a  doubt. 

16  Burk,  pp.  87-95. 

17Harland,p.87. 

18  Norton,  p.  34. 

19  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  54. 
20M'Guire,p.l36. 

21  Irving,  Vol.  I,  p.  163. 

22  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  43. 
23M'Guire,p.l37. 

24  Harland,  p.  91.  In  writing  to  his  mother,  Wash 
ington  always  addressed  her,  "Madam."  It  is 
a  term  of  dignity  and  endearment,  customary 
at  that  time. 

26  M'Guire,  p.  137. 

26  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  89. 

27  Custis,  p.  303.    This  narrative  was  told  Mr.  Custis 

by  Dr.  Craik.     It  was  first  published  in  1828. 

28  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  132;  29  p.  141; 30  p.  149. 

31  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  167.     Extract  from  "Orderly 

Book,"  written  two  days  after  he  reached  Fort 
Cumberland. 

32  M'Guire,  p.  70. 

33  Sparks,  Vol.  II,  p.  188; 34  p.  200;  35  p.  200;  »6  p.  201; 

17  p.  203; 38  p.  278. 

277 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

39  Weems,  p.  182. 

40  Lossing:  Mary  and  Martha,  p.  99. 

41  Kirkland,  pp.  198,  199. 

42  Clark,  p.  126;  43  p.  126. 

44  Lossing:  Field-Book,  Vol.  II,  p.  215. 

45  Clark,  p.  121;  46p.  126;  47  p.  113;  48  p.  130;  49  p. 

118. 

50  Norton,  p.  112. 

51  Clark,  p.  126. 

52  Norton,  p.  112;  53  p.  112. 

54  Irving,  Vol.  I,  p.  365. 

55  M'Guire,  p.  141;  56  p.  142. 

67  Tribune,  p.  7,  by  the  Rev.  Randolph  H.  M'Kim, 
D.D.,  Rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany, 
Washington,  D.  C. 

58  M'Guire,  p.  411. 

59  Presbyterian,  p.  70. 

60  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  40  (from  Wash 

ington's  Diary). 

61  Norton,  p.  117. 

62  Known  simply  as  the  Episcopal  Church  until  1813; 

since  then  as  Christ  Church. — Clark,  p.  137. 

63  Clark,  p.  135;  64  p.  118;  65  p.  136. 

66  Norton,  p.  123;  Custis,  p.  21. 

67  Ford,  p.  29. 

68  M'Guire,  p.  142. 

69  Lodge,  Vol.  I,  p.  123. 

70  Clark,  p.  136. 

71  Butler,  pp.  48, 49. 

72  Irving,  Vol.  I,  p.  461. 

73  M'Guire,  p.  143. 

278 


WHERE  FOUND 

74  Appleton,  Vol.  VI,  p.  383. 

75  Weems,  p.  182. 

76  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  2. 

77  Norton,  p.  145. 

78  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  491; 79  p.  491. 

80  Johnston,  p.  107  (from  "Orderly  Book"). 

81  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  80;  82  p.  86;  83  p.  91;  84  p.  92. 

85  Johnston,  p.  146. 

86  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  171.     Mrs.  Washington  was  on 

her  way  to  Cambridge  to  visit  General  Washing 
ton. 

87  M'Guire,  p.  190. 

88  Paulding,  Vol.  II,  pp.  226,  227. 

89  Baker:  Itinerary,  Vol.  I,  p.  22. 

90  Dudley,  p.  48;  91  p.  49. 

92  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  240. 

93  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  296  (from  "Orderly  Book"). 

94  Dudley,  p.  59. 

95  Sparks,  Vol.  IX,  p.  337. 

96  Johnston,  p.  41. 

97  Thacher,  p.  51. 

98  Post,  April  9,  1776. 

99  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  341. 

100  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  251. 

101  Trevelyan,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  304. 

102  Sparks,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  392;  103  p.  404;  104  p.  449;  105  p. 

456. 

106  Sparks,  Vol.  IV,  p.  26. 

107  Potter,  p.  124. 

108  Sherman,  p.  238;  109  p.  239. 
110  Hosack,  p.  183. 

279 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 


11  Harper,  Vol.  XVIII,  p. 
112  Sherman,  p.  237. 
n3>  n4)  us  M'Guire,  pp.  411-414. 

116  Presbyterian,  Vol.  I,  p.  71. 

117  Presbyterian,  Vol.  I,  p.  569. 

118  Tribune,  p.  7. 

119  Presbyterian,  p.  570,  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland's  letter. 

120  Probably  the  Mrs.  Ford  in  whose  house  Wash 

ington  had  his  headquarters  the  second  winter 
that  the  army  encamped  at  Morristown,  1780- 
81. 

121  Presbyterian,  p.  569,  Rev.  O.  L.  Kirtland's  letter. 

122  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  409. 

123  Trevelyan,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  309. 

124  Sparks,  Vol.  IV,  p.  436; 125  p.  482. 

126  M'Guire,  p.  114. 

127  Sparks,  Vol.  V,  p.  88;  128  p.  103;  129  p.  105;  130p. 

120; 131  p.  524. 

132  Weems,  p.  104. 

133  Lossing:  Field-Book,  Vol.  II,  p.  130. 

134  M'Guire,  p.  158. 

135  Wylie,  pp.  28,  29. 

136  M'Guire,  p.  159. 

137  Barnes,  p.  265. 

138  Baldwin,  pp.  102-107. 

139  Sparks,  Vol.  V,  276. 

140  Whiting,  p.  58; 141  p.  74;  142  p.  77. 

143  Lossing:  Field-Book,  Vol.  II,  p.  140. 

144  Sparks,  Vol.  V,  p.  388. 

145  Norton,  p.  253. 

146  Moore,  p.  6  (p.  5). 

280 


WHERE  FOUND 

147  Custis,  p.  413.     General  Scott  was  governor  of 

Kentucky  after  the  war. 

148  Sparks,  Vol.  V,  p.  432. 

149  Sparks,  Vol.  VI,  p.  36. 

150  Baker:  Early  Sketches,  p.  77. 

151  Chronicle,  Vol.  XLVI,  p.  228. 

152  M'Guire,  pp.  162-167. 

In  the  summer  of  1779  Washington  had  his 
Head-Quarters  on  the  Hudson  River.  That  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  traveling  alone  sometimes 
during  the  war  is  well  known.  The  circum 
stances  mentioned  above  are  said  to  have 
occurred  in  the  month  of  June, — the  year  it 
would  seem  not  remembered.  It  appears  from 
one  of  his  letters  that  he  was  absent  from 
camp  for  a  day  or  two,  about  that  time  in 
1779.  In  a  letter  dated  New  Windsor,  July 
9th,  he  says,  "I  did  not  receive  intelligence 
of  this  till  the  afternoon  of  the  7th  inst.,  having 
been  absent  from  head-quarters  from  the  morn 
ing  of  the  preceding  day,  on  a  visit  to  our  out 
posts  below,  and  those  lately  established  by  the 
enemy."— M'Guire,  p.  165. 

153  M'Guire,  pp.  160,  161. 
164  Kirkland,  p.  478. 

155  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  492. 

166  Kirkland,  p.  479. 

167  Custis,  p.  493. 

158  M'Guire,  p.  146. 

159  Bancroft  (Aaron),  1808,  p.  538. 

160  Thacher,  p.  246. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

161  Sparks,  Vol.  VII,  p.  449; 162  p.  462. 

163  Baker:  Itinerary,  p.  220  (from  Diary  of  (Gov.) 

Jonathan  Trumbull). 

164  Smith,  p.  47. 

165  Custis,  p.  38. 

166  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  207. 

167  Whiting,  pp.  205,  206. 

168  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  234. 

169JBaker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  288  (from  "Or 
derly  Book"). 

170  Johnston,  p.  44. 

171  Custis,  p.  290. 

172  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  567;  m  pp.  440,  441,  452. 

174  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  p.  475. 

175  M'Guire,  p.  125. 

176  Johnston,  p.  160. 

177  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  492,  496. 

178  Johnston,  p.  182. 

179  Sparks,  Vol.  VIII,  pp.  504,  505. 

180  Clark,  p.  136. 

181  M'Guire,  p.  147. 

182  Custis,  p.  173. 
m  Vernon,  p.  48. 

184  Norton,  p.  322. 

185  Custis,  p.  173. 

186  Clark,  p.  130.    Article  by  Rev.  George  S.  Somer- 

ville,  Rector  of  Falls  Church,  Virginia. 

187  Sparks,  Vol.  IX,  p.  22. 

188  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  39,  189  p.  62;  19° 

p.  63;  191  p.  70. 
192  Johnston,  p.  70. 


WHERE  FOUND 

193  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  77  (from  Wash 

ington's  Diary). 

194  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  80. 

195  Sparks,  Vol.  IX,  p.  397; 196,  p.  262. 

197  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  94  (from  Wash 

ington's  Diary). 

198  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  100  (from  Wash 

ington's  Diary). 

199  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  105. 

200  Sparks,  Vol.  IX,  p.  406;  201  p.  421;  202  p.  431. 

203  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  110  (from  Wash 
ington's  Diary). 

204Lossing:  Field-Book,  Vol.  II,  p.  220. 
20f  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  145. 

206  Norton,  pp.  333,  334. 

207  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  2,  4,  5. 
208Vernon,  p.  44. 

209  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  153;  21°  p.  154. 

211  Baker:  Character  Portraits,  p.  77  (from  Biograph 

ical  Sketch  of   General   George   Washington, 
by  Jedediah  Morse,  D.D.,  December  31,  1799). 

212  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  152;  213  p.  160; 214  pp.  162, 163. 
216  Irving,  Vol.  V,  p.  21. 

216  M'Guire,  p.  206. 

217  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  119. 

218  Lossing:  Diary,  pp.  12,  18,  19,  24. 

219  Diary,  p.  34. 

220  Diary,  p.  42. 

221  Diary,  p.  50. 

222  M'Guire,  p.  175. 

223  Diary,  pp.  53,  55,  58. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

224  Diary,  pp.  60,  61,  62. 

226  Long  Island,  Vol.  IV,  p.  311. 

226  Diary,  pp.  64,  65,  68,  71,  74,  86,  89,  91,  96,  97,  98, 

104, 114. 

227  Johnston,  p.  45. 

228  Diary,  pp.  116,  118,  121,  128. 

229  Diary,  pp.  132,  136,  137,  144,  152. 

230  M'Guire,  p.  174. 

231  Johnston,  p.  171.     The  Reverend  Thomas  Davis 

assisted  at  Washington's  funeral. 

232  M'Guire,  p.  414. 

233  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  490; 234  p.  490. 
235  M'Guire,  p.  153;  236  p.  153. 

237  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  408. 

238  Kirkland,  p.  486. 

239  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  492;  24°  p.  255; 241  p.  494. 

242  M'Guire,  p.  168. 

243  Green,  p.  267.     The  Rev.  Dr.  Green  was  pastor 

of  the  Second  Presbyterian  Church  of  Philadel 
phia  at  that  time.  He  became  President  of 
Princeton  University  in  1812,  and  Moderator 
of  the  General  Assembly  in  1824. 

244  Custis,  p.  435. 

245  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  248. 

246  Kirkland,  p.  208. 

247  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  226. 

248  Sparks,  Vol.  X,  p.  179. 

249  Long  Island,  Vol.  IV,  p.  311. 

250  Rush,  p.  65. 

251  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  494;  252  p.  494; 2B3  p.  492. 
264  Norton,  p.  394. 

284 


WHERE  FOUND 

255  Sparks,  Vol.  X,  p.  222;  256  p.  286;  257  p.  309. 
258  Sparks,  Vol.  X,  p.  389; 259  p.  393. 

260  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  272. 

261  Long  Island,  Vol.  IV,  p.  76. 

262  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  286. 

263  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  54; 264  pp.  132, 134. 
266  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  305. 

266  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  56,  60,  64; 267  pp.  227,  228. 

268  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  243. 

269  Custis,  p.  75. 

270  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  65,  74. 

271  Custis,  p.  78. 

272  Green,  p.  157; 273  p.  614;  274  p.  615. 

275  Baker:  After  the  Revolution,  p.  368. 

276  Eulogies  and  Orations,  p.  258. 

277  Johnston,  p.  121. 
278Pryor,  p.  351. 

279  M'Guire,  p.  154;  28°  p.  154. 

281  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  246. 

282  Walter,  p.  233. 

283  Lossing:  Mary  and  Martha,  p.  324. 
«*  Sparks,  Vol.  I,  p.  558. 

285  Weems,  p.  168. 
288  M'Guire,  p.  344. 

287  Weems,  p.  169. 

288  Hough,  Vol.  I,  p.  17. 

«9  Weems,  p<  170.  Washington  died  between  ten 
and  eleven  o'clock  Saturday  night,  December 
14, 1799,  in  the  68th  year  of  his  age. 

1W  Sparks,  Vol.  I,  p.  529. 

291  Custis,  p.  477. 

285 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

292Lossing:  Mary  and  Martha,  p.  327. 
293  Custis,  p.  509;  294  p.  513.     Mrs.  Washington  died 
Saturday  evening,  May  22,  1802. 

295  Ramsay,  p.  361. 

296  Ramsay,  p.  358;  297  p.  352;  298  p.  353. 

299  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  pp.  405-407;  30°  p.  407;  801  p. 
407-8. 

802  Littell,  p.  14. 

803  Meade,  Vol.  II,  p.  243. 

804  Eulogies  and  Orations,  p.  17;  30S  p.  37;  306  p.  292; 
807  p.  279; 808  p.  91; 309  p.  233;  31°  p.  190. 

811  Baker:  Character    Portraits,    p.    114— Timothy 

D wight,  D.D.,  President  of  Yale  College,  in 
Discourse  on  the  Character  of  Washington, 
February  22,  1800. 

812  M'Guire,  p.  393. 

313  Baker:  Early  Sketches,  p.  27. 

314  Baker:  Early  Sketches,  p.  74. 

315  Tribune,  p.  7,  quoted  by  Reverend  Doctor  Ran 

dolph  H.  McKim;316p.  7. 

317  Tribune,  p.  7,  Letter  by  R.  C.  L.  Vigelius. 

318  Baker :  Character  Portraits,  p.  284 — Lecture  by 

Theodore  Parker,   1858. 

319  Kirkland,  p.  480. 

320  Weems,  p.  62. 

321  Bancroft  (Aaron),  p.  538. 

322  Edmonds,  Vol.  II,  p.  304. 

323  Marshall,  Vol.  II,  p.  445. 

824  Bancroft  (George),  Vol.  VII,  p.  398. 
326  Sparks,  Vol.  I,  p.  535. 
326  Sparks,  Vol.  XII,  p.  411. 
286 


WHERE  FOUND 

327  Ramsay,  p.  331. 

32*  Paulding,  Vol.  II,  p.  208; 329  p.  210. 

sso  Trevelyan,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  308; 331  p.  310, 

332  Lodge,  Vol.  II,  p.  387. 

333  Weems,  p.  174. 


287 


NAMES  OF  THE  DEITY 

THE  terms  one  uses  in  referring  to  the  Deity  are  an 
indication  of  his  religious  thinking,  and  of  his  con 
ception  of  God  and  his  attributes.  In  the  quota 
tions  found  in  this  book,  Washington  uses  no  less 
than  fifty-four  designations.  In  the  following  list 
are  twenty-six  more,  which  are  found  in  his  writings, 
but  not  quoted  in  this  volume. 

The  page  on  which  the  name  first  occurs  is 
given. 

Almighty. 

Almighty  Being,  161. 
Almighty  Father,  126. 
Almighty  God,  81. 
Almighty  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  113. 
All-Kind  Providence. 
All-Powerful  Guide,  150. 
All-Powerful  Providence,  47. 
All-Wise  Dispenser  of  Events,  70. 
All- Wise  Disposer  of  Events,  70. 
All- Wise  and  Powerful  Being,  111. 
Author  of  All  Good,  114. 
Author  of  Blessings,  216. 

Being,  72. 

Beloved  Son,  127. 

Beneficent  Author  of  All  Good,  173. 

288 


NAMES  OF  THE  DEITY 

Beneficent  Being. 

Benign  Parent  of  the  Human  Race,  162. 

Bountiful  Providence,  119. 

Creator,  172. 

Deity,  165. 

Dispenser  of  Human  Events,  150. 

Divine  Author  of  Life  and  Felicity,  225. 

Divine  Author  of  Our  Blessed  Religion,  141. 

Divine  Author  of  the  Universe. 

Divine  Beneficence,  215. 

Divine  Blessing. 

Divine  Goodness,  113. 

Divine  Government,  133. 

Divine  Providence,  164. 

Giver  of  Life,  227. 

Giver  of  Victory,  81. 

God,  39. 

God  of  Armies,  144. 

Good  Providence,  172. 

Gracious  and  Beneficent  Being. 

Gracious  God. 

Gracious  Providence. 

Grand  Architect  of  the  Universe. 

Great  Arbiter  of  the  Universe. 

Great  Author  of  All  the  Care  and  Good,  114. 

Great  Director  of  Events. 

Great  Disposer  of  Events. 

Great  Father  of  the  Universe. 

Great  and  Glorious  Being,  173. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 

Great  and  Good  Being,  111 

Great  Governor  of  the  Universe,  164. 

Great  Power. 

Great  Ruler  of  Events. 

Great  Ruler  of  Nations,  216. 

Great  Searcher  of  Human  Hearts. 

Heaven,  69. 

Heavenly  Preserver,  125. 

Jehovah. 

Kind  Providence,  226. 

Lord,  81. 

Lord  and  Giver  of  All  Victory,  77. 

Lord  of  Hosts,  77. 

Lord  and  Ruler  of  Nations,  174. 

Maker. 

Most  Gracious  Being,  158. 

Omnipotent  Being,  155. 
Overruling  Providence. 

Parent  of  the  Universe. 

Power. 

Providence,  39. 

Revelation,  Pure  and  Benign  Light  of,  140. 
Ruler  of  the  Universe,  220. 

Source  of  Blessings. 

290 


NAMES  OF  THE  DEITY 

Sovereign  Arbiter  of  the  United  States,  221, 

Superintending  Providence. 

Supreme  Architect. 

Supreme  Author  of  All  Good,  112. 

Supreme  Being,  82. 

Supreme  Dispenser  of  Every  Good. 

Supreme  Ruler  of  Nations,  214. 

Supreme  Ruler  of  the  Universe,  171. 

Wise  Disposer  of  Events. 
Wonder- Working  Deity. 


291 


INDEX 


Abercrombie,  the  Rev.  Dr., 
196 

Abraham  and  Washington, 
258 

Adams,  John,  letter  of,  65; 
at  inauguration,  159;  let 
ter  to,  226 

Address,  farewell  to  army, 
143 

Address,  first  inaugural,  161 

Address  of  Philadelphia  cler 


gy,  221,  222 
iddr 


Address  to  Baptist  churches, 
164 

Address  to  city  officials  of 
Philadelphia,  158 

Address  to  Congress,  Prince 
ton,  New  Jersey,  141 

Address  to  Methodist  Epis 
copal  Church,  163 

Address  to  Philadelphia  cler 
gy,  224 

Address  to  Presbyterian 
church,  167 

Address  to  Protestant  Epis 
copal  church,  169 

Address  to  the  United  Breth 
ren,  168 

Adopted  son,  letter  to,  219; 
another  letter,  221 

Alexandria,  Virginia,  Christ 
Church,  54,  59,  63,  149, 
154,  185,  193,  226,  227,  243 

All-wise  Disposer  of  events, 
70 

Ancestry,  Christian,  16 

Apple  orchard,  communion 
service  in,  89 

Appleton,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Na 
thaniel,  74 

Arnold,  Benedict,  instruc 
tions  to,  70 


Ball,  grandfather.  17 

Bancroft,  Aaron,  judgment 
of,  260 

Bancroft,  George,  judgment 
of,  260 

Baptism,  18 

Baptist  churches,  address  to, 
164 

Bard,  Dr.  Samuel,  physician, 
171 

Beaver,  Devault,  testimony 
of,  104 

Berrian,  the  Rev.  Dr.,  letter 
of,  188 

Bible,  birth  record,  18;  in 
struction  in,  19;  reads 
Sunday  afternoon,  149;  at 
inauguration,  159;  reads 
Sunday  evenings,  185,  191; 
open  on  chair,  198;  private 
devotions,  229;  gift  in  will, 
237 

Bibles,  buys  for  stepchildren, 
48 

Blair,  the  Rev.  Mr.,  chap 
lain,  preaches,  132 

Blessing  at  table,  198 

Boucher,  the  Rev.  Jonathan, 
testimony  of,  256 

Brackett,  Charlotte  Morrell. 
testimony  of,  95 

Braddock,  General,  offers 
.command,  39;  funeral,  40 

Brother,  letter  to,  40;  death 
of,  227 

Buckminster,  the  Rev.  Jo 
seph,  heard  preach,  176; 
letter  to,  178 

Burgoyne's  defeat,  100 

Burk,  the  Rev.  W.  Herbert, 
gives  permission,  24 


292 


INDEX 


Canada,  message  to,  72 

Chaplain,  asks  for,  45 

Chaplains,  commends,  188 

Chapman,  the  Rev.  George 
Thomas,  statement  by,  187 

Character  sketch,  120 

"Charity,  example  of  Chris 
tian,"  108 

Charity,  to  the  poor,  72;  gift 
to,  211;  bequest,  240 

Chatterton  Hill,  battle  of,  84 

Children,  adopts,  134 

Christ  Church,  Alexandria, 
Virginia;  see  "Alexandria, 
Virginia" 

Christ  Church,  Cambridge, 
Massachusetts,  74 

Christ  Church,  Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  attends, 
66,  152;  pew  in,  191,  192, 
193 

Christian  above  patriot,  112 

Christian,  letter  of  Nelly 
Custis,  243 

Christian  soldier,  83 

Christmas,  poem,  21;  at 
church,  146 

Church  attendance,  39,  55, 
57,  62,  63,  66,  74,  120,  134, 
146,  149,  150,  151,  152, 
154,  155,  160,  185,  190, 
191,  201,  226,  243 

Church  attendance  at  home, 
153 

Church  attendance  in  Phila 
delphia,  190,  191 

Church,  attends  at  inaugura 
tion,  160 

Church  building  committee, 
member  of,  Falls  Church, 
53;  chairman,  Payne's 
Church,  54;  chairman,  Po- 
hick  Church,  55 

Church,  Christmas  at,  146 

Church,  goes  to,  152 

Church,  going  in  family 
coach,  60 


Church,  his  custom  to  at 
tend,  39,  184,  194,  243 

Church,  not  kept  from  by 
company,  56 

Church,  member  of,  148 

Church  membership  of  par 
ents,  18 

Church  of  England,  parents 
members  of,  18;  subscribes 
to  doctrine  and  discipline, 
50 

Church,  Falls,  53 

Church,  panic  in,  154 

Church,  Payne's,  53 

Church,  Pohick,  54 

Church,  Pope's  Creek,  19 

Church,  Saint  Peter's,  Kent 
County,  Virginia,  48 

Church,  Saint  Peter's,  Phila 
delphia,  66,  192 

Church  subscriptions,  185 

Church,  Trumbuil  attends 
with  Washington,  134 

Church,  Washington  at,  in 
Philadelphia,  193;  in  Alex 
andria,  228 

Churchman,  claimed  to  be, 
249 

Clergy,  address  of,  221,  222 

Clergy,  regard  for,  139 

Communicant,  55,  57,  187 

Communion,  partook  regu 
larly,  58;  attends  at  Mor- 
ristown,  New  Jersey,  85; 
withdraws  from,  96;  par 
takes  of,  194;  always  be 
fore  Revolution,  244 

Confirmed,  not,  58 

Congregational  Church,  at 
tends,  74,  176 

Congress,  speech  to,  217;  last 
speech  to,  220 

Conscience,  rights  of,  70 

Constitutional  convention, 
president  of,  152 

Contemplations:  Moral  and 
Divine,  19 


293 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 


Cornwallis'  surrender,  134 

Coulton,  Asa  A.,  testimony 
of,  90 

Court-martial  at  battle  of 
Monmouth,  117 

Coxe,  the  Rev.  Samuel  H., 
testimony  of,  86 

Craik,  Dr.,  family  physician, 
41,  152,  232 

Credit,  takes  none  to  himself, 
158 

Custis,  Eleanor  Parke(Nelly), 
adopts,  135;  letter  by,  242 

Custis,  George  Washington 
Parke,  adopts,  135;  letters 
to,  220,  221 

Custis,  John  Parke,  stepson, 
Bible  bought  for,  48;  cate 
chism  taught,  55;  death, 
134,  244 

Custis,  Martha  Parke,  step 
daughter,  Bible  bought  for, 
48;  catechism  taught,  55; 
death,  60,  244 

Custis,  Mrs.  Martha,  letter 
to,  47;  marriage,  48 

Daily  sacrifice,  23 

Davidson,  the  Rev.  Dr.,  214 

Davis,  the  Rev.  Thomas,  185 

Death  of  a  child,  letter  of 
sympathy,  201 

Decision  to  fight,  63 

Diary,  extracts  from,  51,  52, 
57,  62,  66,  150,  151,  152, 
154,  155,  156,  175,  176, 
178.  180,  181,  182,  183, 
201,  214,  226 

Dinwiddie,  Governor,  com 
missions  Washington,  36; 
letter  to,  44;  asks  for  chap 
lain,  45 

Die,  not  afraid  to,  232 

Die  easier,  233 

Dies  hard,  232 

Dispenser  of  human  events, 
150 


Divine  service,  orders  army 
to  attend,  69,  70;  not  to  be 
omitted,  99;  every  Sunday, 
112;  regular  attendant, 
131;  open-air  service,  132; 
every  Sunday,  138 

Divine  will,  submission  to, 
234 

Doctrine,  approbation  of,  179 

Doremus,  Cornelius,  another 
witness,  131 

Dream,  impressed  by,  231 

Drinking,  discountenanced, 
43;  punished,  44;  forbid 
den,  69;  discouraged,  136 

Duche,  the  Rev.  John,  63,  64 

Dudley,  Dorothy,  diary,  74 

Dunham,  Captain  Josiah, 
testimony  of,  253 

Dutch  Reformed  Church,  at 
tends,  201 

D wight,  President  Timothy, 
testimony  of,  255 

Dying,  wished  to  be  alone, 
233 

Dying  words,  233,  234 

Edmonds,    Cyrus    R.,    judg 
ment  of,  260 
Education,  donation  for,  212; 

bequest  for,  240 
Eliot,  Rev.  Dr.  Andrew,  78 
Emerson,  Rev.  William,  69 
Episcopal    Church,    predom 
inated,  49;  at  Alexandria, 
Va.,  54 

Evans,  the  Rev.  Israel,  chap 
lain,  acknowledges  receipt 
of  sermon,  110;  devotion  in 
death,  259 

Fairfax,  Mr.,  quoted,  37 
Falls    Church,    Virginia,    58; 

does  not  forget,  149 
Farewell  address,  143 
Fast  day,  ordered,  77,  111 
Fast,  observance  of,  81 


294 


INDEX 


Fasting,  61 

Father,  George's,  18 

Fiancee,  letter  to,  47 

Field,  the  Rev.  D.  D.,  testi 
mony  of,  130 

First  Continental  Congress, 
prayer,  63 

Fort  Necessity,  prayer  at,  37 

Fredericksburg,  Virginia, 
mother's  home,  21,  154, 
156 

Funeral,  conducts  Brad- 
dock's,  40 

Gambling,  discouraged,  42; 
punished,  72;  condemned, 
76;  not  allowed,  80;  forbid 
den,  98 

God,  forsakes  not  house  of, 
226 

God,  trust  in,  39;  "on  our 
side,"  68;  alone  able  to 
protect,  210;  trusts  for 
guidance,  210;  knows  best, 
214 

Godfather,  21 

Grace,  at  table,  58;  at  state 
dinner,  162;  always,  198; 
at  Mount  Vernon,  230 

Great  Meadows,  36,  39 

Great  Spirit  protects  him,  41 

Green,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ashabel, 
chaplain,  199;  writes  ad 
dress,  221,  247 

Griffith,  the  Rev.  David,  146 


Hamilton,  Alexander,  testi 
mony  of,  116;  Washing 
ton's  habit  of  prayer,  131 

Harrison,  Judge,  testimony 
of,  132 

High  priest  of  the  nation,  219 

Honest  man,  155 

Hospitality  to  the  poor,  70 

Hunter,  the  Rev.  Mr.,  ser 
mon,  113 


Inauguration,  159 

Indian  chief,  testimony  of,  40 

Indians,    tradition    of    New 

York,  258 
Infidel,  worse  than,  119 

Jarrett,  the  Rev.  Devereux, 

testimony  of,  256 
Johnes,  John  B.,  M.D.,  94 
Johnes,  the  Rev.  Timothy,  86 
Johnes,  William,  90 
Just,  believes  cause,  81 

Kirkland,  the  Rev.  John 
Thornton,  testimony  of, 
252 

Kirtland,  the  Rev.  O.  L.,  tes 
timony  of,  93 

Knox,  General,  a  witness, 
106,  202 

Lafayette,  letter  to,  153,  201 
Lear,   Tobias,  private  secre 
tary,  203,  233,  235 
Lee,    General,    at    battle    of 

Monmouth,  115 
Lee,    Major-General    Henry, 

testimony  of,  250 
Leonard,  the  Rev.  Abiel,  74, 

78 

Letter  to  his  fiancee,  47 
Levingston,  the  Rev.  Brock- 
hoist,  183 

Lewis,  Laurence,  nephew,  208 

Lewis,   Robert,   nephew  and 

private  secretary,  89,  208; 

letter  to,  226;  testimony  of, 

246 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  219 
Livingston,  Chancellor,  160 
Lodge,  Henry  Cabot,  quoted, 

17;  opinion  of,  267 
Lord's  Supper,  the  scene,  92 
Lossing,  Benson  J.,  account 

of,  103 

Lynch,  John,  church  attend 
ance,  149 


895 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 


Madison,  President,  testi 
mony  of,  257 

Marriage,  48 

McGuire,  the  Rev.  E.  C., 
statement  of,  57;  commun- 

.  ion,  89;  prayer  at  former's 
home,  122;  testimony  of, 
190,  191,  207,  228 

Marshall,  General,  testimony 
of,  116 

Marshall,  John,  judgment  of, 
260 

Mason,  the  Rev.  John  M., 
testimony  of,  254 

Massey,  the  Rev.  Lee,  testi 
mony  of,  56 

Meade,  Bishop,  testimony  of, 
188;  Washington  with 
draws  from  communion, 
195;  comment,  196;  com 
ment  on  swearing,  207 

Message,  valedictory,  139 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church, 
address  to,  163 

Miller,  Peter,  visits  Wash 
ington,  109 

Ministers,  entertains,  150 

Ministry,  supporting  the,  147 

Miracles,  not  waiting  for,  138 

Monmouth,  battle  of,  115 

Morals,  irreproachable,  120 

Morristown,  N.  J.,  commun 
ion  service,  85 

Mossom,  the  Rev.  David,  48 

Mother,  character,  17;  reads 
to  children,  19;  religious 
teaching,  21;  advises  secret 
prayer,  36;  opposes  going 
to  war,  39;  last  visit  to, 
156;  death,  172 

Mount  Vernon,  goes  to,  21; 
residence,  48;  visited  twice 
during  war,  146 

Muir,  the  Rev.  James,  212 


New  England,  visits,  175 
New  York,  residence,  159 


Ogden,  the  Rev.,  176 

Omnipotent  Being  never  de 
serted  America,  155 

Open-air  service,  132 

Order  to  army,  first  general, 
69 

Orphan  school,  donation  to, 
212 

Parker,  Dr.  Samuel,  176 
Paulding,    James    K.,    state 
ment  of,  263 
Payne's  church,  53 
Pew,     Alexandria,     Virginia, 
60,  147;  Saint  Paul's,  New 
York,  189;  Christ  Church, 
Philadelphia,  191,  192;  Po- 
hick,  243 

Pinckney,  General  C.  C.,  tes 
timony  of,  116 
Poem  on  "Christmas  Day," 

21 

Pohick  Church,  vestry  book, 
49;  place  of   worship,   54; 
attends  again,  151;  again, 
154;  again,  156 
Pond,  the  Rev.  Enoch,  176 
Poor,  hospitality  to,  72 
Pope's  Creek  Church,  19 
Popham,    Major,    testimony 

of,  188;  letter  of,  189 
Porterfield,    General    Robert 
testimony  of,  130;  saw  take 
communion,   194;   did  not 
swear,  208 
Potts,    Isaac,   heard   prayer, 

102 
Prayerbook,    instruction    in, 

19 

Prayerbooks,  buys,  148 
Prayer,      another      instance, 
128;  heard  at,  130;  saw  him 
on  his  knees,  130;  another 
witness,  131 

Prayer  at  farmer's  house,  122 
Prayer  at  Valley  Forge,  102 
Prayer  before  battle,  84 


296 


INDEX 


Prayer,  daily,  59,  131 

Prayer,  Independence  born 
of,  107 

Prayer,  kneels,  63,  65 

Prayer,  private,  36,  197,  229, 
244 

Prayer,  secret,  advised  by 
mother,  36 

Prayer,  Mrs.  Washington  in, 
234 

Prayers  at  Fort  Necessity,  36 

Prayers  in  army  every  morn 
ing,  69 

Prayers,  family,  148 

Prayers,  stood  during,  55 

Prayers,  Washington's,  23 

Prays  at  bedside  of  step 
daughter,  60,  244 

Presbyterian  Church,  at 
tends,  66;  communion,  86; 
attends,  89;  sends  address, 
166;  receives  address,  167; 
orphan  school,  212;  at 
tends,  214 

Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
member  of,  148;  address 
to,  169 

Providence,  protection  of, 
44;  finger  of,  76;  special, 
77;  interposition  of,  80; 
mark  of,  98;  signal  stroke 
of,  100;  superintending, 
101;  protection  of,  113; 
never-failing,  119;  only  de 
pendence,  133;  hand  of  rec 
ognized,  133;  belief  in  over 
ruling,  135;  under  control 
of,  142;  continued  protec 
tion  of,  153 

Provoost,  Bishop  Samuel, 
160,  182,  186 

Public  worship,  deportment, 
55,  56,  190,  192,  193;  at 
tends,  66;  attitude,  75; 
stands,  96,  243 

Putnam,  General,  sympathy 
for.  100 


Quaker  meeting,  attends,  66 
Quarreling  and  fighting  pun 
ished,  44 

Ramsey,  Hon.  David,  testi 
mony  of,  253;  verdict,  262 
Religion  indispensable,  217 
Religion,  toleration  in,  153 
Religious     disputes,     depre 
cates,  211 
Religious    service    in    army 

conducted,  47 
Religious  teaching,  19 
Resigns  his  commission,  144 
Richards,    the    Rev.    James, 

testimony  of,  91 
Right  always,  67 
Rights  of  conscience,  71 
Right  vs.  popularity,  155 
Romish  Church,  attends,  152 
Rules,  Washington's,  20 

Sabbath     observance,      149, 

177,  184,  191,  258 

St.  Clair,  General,  203,  206 
Saint    Paul's    Chapel,    New 
York,    attends,    160,    175, 

178,  180,    181.    182.    183, 
186,  189 

Saint  Peter's  Episcopal 
Church,  New  Kent  Coun 
ty,  Virginia,  48 

Saint  Peter's  Episcopal 
Church,  Philadelphia,  at 
tends,  66,  192 

Scott,  General  Charles,  state 
ment  of,  118 

Seabury,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Sam 
uel,  bishop,  58 

Sermon,  asks  for,  78;  ac 
knowledges  receipt  of,  110, 
178;  heard  "lame"  dis 
courses,  176;  language  not 
understood,  201;  political 
sermon,  214 

Sewall,  Jonathan  Mitchell, 
testimony  of,  251 


297 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON  THE  CHRISTIAN 


Sickness,  171 

Slavery,  wants  it  abolished, 
151 

Slaves,  will  not  sell,  226;  re 
lease  in  will,  237;  provides 
freedom,  238 

Smith,  Jeremiah,  testimony 
of,  254 

Snowden,  the  Rev.  James 
Ross,  testimony  of,  105 

Sparks,  Jared,  letter  to,  242; 
judgment  of,  261 

Sunday,  how  spent,  149 

Sunday  in  Boston,  Mass.,  176 

Sunday  in  Connecticut,  176; 
halted  by  officer,  176 

Sunday  in  Portsmouth,  N. 
H.,  176 

Sunday  visiting,  no,  184,  191 

Sundays  at  home,  177 

Sundays  away  from  home,  175 

Supreme  Being,  relies  upon, 
82 

Swear,  did  Washington,  203; 
statement  of  private  secre 
tary,  203;  Bishop  Meade's 
comment,  207;  testimony 
of  nephews,  207;  testimony 
of  General  Porterfield,  208 

Swearing,  discountenanced, 
43;  punished,  44;  forbid 
den,  69;  condemned,  83; 
rebukes,  209 

Swift,  General  Joseph  G., 
testimony  of,  115 

Temperance,  personal  hab 
its,  199;  views,  200 

Thacher,  the  Rev.  Peter,  ser 
mon,  176 

Thanks  God,  141 

Thanksgiving  after  Corn- 
wallis'  surrender,  134 

Thanksgiving  day,  observes, 
217 

Thanksgiving,  first  national, 
172;  second  national,  215 


Thanksgiving  for  treaty  of 
peace,  143;  for  end  of  war, 
144 

Thanksgiving  and  praise  or 
dered,  101 

Thanksgiving  sermon,  asks 
for,  78 

Thanksgiving  service,  ac 
count  of,  76 

Thanksgiving  service,  at 
tends,  78 

Trevelyan,  Sir  George  Otto, 
opinion  of,  265 

Trinity  Episcopal  Church, 
New  York,  prayer  for  king 
to  be  omitted,  80;  attends 
consecration,  182,  183,  186, 
187 

Trumbull,  speaker,  185,  191 

Trumbull,  Governor  Jona 
than,  attends  church  with, 
134 

Truro  parish,  17,  49,  52,  53, 
59,  243 

United  Brethren,  address  to, 

168 
Upham,     Professor     S.     F., 

quoted,  23 

Valedictory  message,  139 
Valley  Forge,  prayer  at,  102 
Vestryman,    elected,   49;   re 
signed,  52 

Vestry  meetings,  50 
Vice  and  immorality  discour 
aged,  98 

Warden,  a  church,  52 

Warner,  great-grandfather, 
17 

Washington,  Augustine,  fa 
ther,  17;  instructs  George 
18;  death,  18 

Washington,  Augustine,  half^ 
brother,  19 


298 


INDEX 


Washington,  Bushrod,  neph 
ew,  testimony  of,  258 

Washington,  John,  great 
grandfather,  16 

Washington,  Lawrence, 
grandfather,  16 

Washington,  Lawrence, 
brother,  21;  visits  West 
Indies,  22;  son-in-law  of 
Mr.  Fairfax,  38 

Washington,  Lund,  business 
agent,  73 

Washington,  Mary  Ball, 
mother,  17 

Washington,  Martha,  wife, 
married,  48;  always  sym 
pathized  with  husband,  67; 
letters  to,  68;  asks  church 
be  prepared  for  services, 
75;  attends  church  at  Cam 
bridge,  75;  at  son's  death; 
135;  goes  to  New  York, 


162;    attends   consecration 
of  Trinity  Church,  182;  in 
prayer,  234;  at  husband's 
deathbed,  235;  daily  devo 
tions,  235;  death,  236;  very 
pious,  243-245. 
Washington,  the  Rev.  Law 
rence,      great-great-grand 
father,  16 
Wellington,  Duke  of,  quoted, 

269 

West  Indies,  trip  to,  22 
"Whiskey  Rebellion,"  214 
White.    Bishop    William, 
preaches,    152;    statement 
of,  191,  193,  196;  letter,  246 
Wife,  letters  to,  68 
Will,  Washington's,  237 
Winthrop,   Robert   C.,  testi 
mony  of,  257 

Wylie,  the  Rev.  T.  W.  J.,  tes 
timony  of,  105 


299 


'82 


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